Winter 1st Quarter Journal 1975 January-March

 

1975

 

JANUARY1975

1 January 1975 Wednesday

Well another year is here and we are in the middle of the decade. All ready so many changes are seemingly about to be wrought on me.

            This morning my cousin’s wife Pam Fagen called the house to get directions to Grandma and Grandpa Williams’ place in Yucaipa. Some of the family is going there for dinner and to see my Uncle and Aunt Wallace and Mattie Lee Williams before they leave to go back to Lubbock, Texas.

            I decided to go also since Mom and Dad  went. I listened to the radio on the way up to hear the top 100 Songs from 1974.  The Way We Were by Barbara Streisand was the number 1 song for the year.

            I was up in Yucaipa by 1:30 in the afternoon but I was surprised that Wallace and Mattie Lee weren’t there. They had left out yesterday. Mom is very upset with them for not staying to be with Grandma and Grandpa for dinner when everyone had come up to see them. Grandma had even fixed a big dinner. Others who were there were my Uncles and Aunts Milton and Marie,  Bonnie and Bill Fagen. My cousin Gregory Williams was with them Milton and Marie but Stephanie was up in the mountain with her boyfriend. Marie wants me to talk to Stephanie about going to college.

Also there were Grandma’s nephew and his wife Norman and Betty Danforth. My cousin Larry Fagen’s wife Pam was also there with her baby Aaron Paul Fagen.  It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him. I guess Larry will be home around the 25^th of this month from boot camp. We had a nice dinner even without Wallace and Mattie Lee.

Charline still hasn’t had her baby either Michael Louis or Rebecca Louise, yet so that is why she and the kids didn’t come. She’s going to have the baby at the hospital in Fontana which is 30 miles away from Corona but  that is where Dennis’ insurance will cover the expenses. I hope she doesn’t to have to wait too long as she is as big as a house now.

I suppose I should write something reflective at this time. I am 23 years old and living back at home on Dale Street in Garden Grove with Mom and Dad. I am not there much because I have been working long hours at Don Giovanni’s this Italian Restaurant I went to work for last October when I returned to California from Utah.

Tomorrow, if I am not paid the money I am still owed from last month, I will have to quit work. I have gone far enough without having been paid and enough if enough.

I would like to go back up to Utah but because I am owed so much money I don’t know now if I can before April during the Spring Term.

I’ve written Linda Prindle again and this time I asked her to marry me. It is time to get on with my life and my eternal progression.

I hope to God, I will have a better life this New Year by keeping his commandments to marry and have children. It is the only true way of achieving inner peace and harmony because wickedness was never happiness.

Additional Material

The Top 30 songs for 1974 were:

1"The Way We Were" Barbra Streisand

2 "Seasons in the Sun" Terry Jacks

3 "Love's Theme" Love Unlimited Orchestra

4 "Come and Get Your Love" Redbone

5 "Dancing Machine" The Jackson 5

6 "The Loco-Motion" Grand Funk Railroad

7 "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" MFSB

8 "The Streak" Ray Stevens

9 "Bennie and the Jets" Elton John

10 "One Hell of a Woman" Mac Davis

11 "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" Aretha Franklin

12 "Jungle Boogie" Kool & the Gang

13 "Midnight at the Oasis" Maria Muldaur

14 "You Make Me Feel Brand New" The Stylistics

15 "Show and Tell" Al Wilson

16 "Spiders and Snakes" Jim Stafford

17 "Rock On" David Essex

18 "Sunshine on My Shoulders" John Denver

19 "Sideshow" Blue Magic

20 "Hooked on a Feeling" Blue Swede

21 "Billy Don't Be a Hero" Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods

22 "Band on the Run" Paul McCartney and Wings

23 "The Most Beautiful Girl" Charlie Rich

24 "Time in a Bottle" Jim Croce

25 "Annie's Song" John Denver

26 "Let Me Be There" Olivia Newton-John

27 "Sundown" Gordon Lightfoot

28 "(You're) Having My Baby" Paul Anka  

29 "Rock Me Gently" Andy Kim

30 "Boogie Down" Eddie Kendricks

• John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up.
• Dr. Robert Gallo reported the "discovery" of a "new" and "human" HL-23 virus he cultured from human leukemia cells. Eventually the virus was proven to be three contaminating ape viruses i.e. gibbon-ape virus, simian sarcoma virus, and baboon endogenous virus. Gallo claims he has no idea how these animal viruses contaminated his research.

 

2 January 1975 Thursday

Well today was eventful enough. I am now out of work again and dependent on the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ for my fate. I took the paycheck for $100 down to the bank to cash it and there wasn’t sufficient funds in the account to cover it. I went back to Huntington Harbor and made Don Baldwin pay me in cash. I then asked for the rest of the money I have coming to me. I said I would not work into another pay period without getting all of my back pay.

            Don said he would have the rest of it when I come into work tonight. I saw Frank Farrare and Terry and they said that Bill the bartender quit today. When I asked Don for my back pay he didn’t have any money for me so I said I didn’t feel right continuing to work with so much back salary owed to me so I just went home.

            I’m not going back to Don Giovanni’s to work unless they can guarantee I will always get paid on time but I doubt if they can.

            Tomorrow I am going to the Labor Board to file a complaint and then to the Employment office. I’m scared that I’m going to lose all that money from December, and I’m not going to afford to go back to Utah. The Lord will provide for all my needs, I know that.

            Maybe this is the Lord’s way of getting me out of that environment. It was very bad.

            I’s was 2 years ago that I quit Juanito’s Junior Market to go to BYU. I wish I was going there again. Trust and Obey. For there’s no other way to be happy In Jesus but to trust and obey.

I am such a wretched man. I truly am.

 

3 January 1975 Friday

I filed a claim against Don Giovanni today with the Labor Board. I had to if I ever hope to go back to Utah. I know the Lord is in my life again and I needed to get out from under the moral corruptness that was prevalent  down there.

            This Monday I will go to the Unemployment Office and apply for work again. I am going back to Utah as soon as possible. I’d like to write Richard and Piper Holmes asking of I might stay with them a while until I find work in Provo or Salt Lake. I shouldn’t be here “non-existing”. I got to start doing something with my life again.

 

4 January 1975 Saturday

My sister and brother in law Charline and Dennis came down with the kids from Corona to visit with Mom and Dad and for Dennis to work on his car.. I took my nephew and niece, James and Denise to Foster Freeze for a chocolate dip ice cream cone. Denise threw a fit because she wanted a vanilla one but when she finally took a lick of the chocolate dip she changed her tune in a hurry. Mom and Dad were out shopping for most of the time Charline was down here.

            I called the Executive Secretary of the Garden Grove 6^th Ward to make an appointment to see Bishop McKay for an interview to get a recommend to go back to BYU. He said he’s see if he could get me in to see the Bishop tomorrow.

            The economic situation in this country doesn’t seem very promising. I’ve been a fool for playing around in college so much but I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but now I feel like it might be too late.

Additional Material

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by Elton John was number 1 song for 2 weeks

 

5 January 1975 Sunday

A year ago today, I heard Linda Prindle bare her testimony in the 41^st BYU Branch and fell in love with her. Today I went and was interviewed by Bishop McKay so that I could go back to BYU. He’s a great man. I asked him about being advanced in the Priesthood and he said that by the end of January we’d wee if I could be advance to a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood.

            In Sacrament Meeting I sat with Larry Hyde, who was a high school class mate at Rancho Alamitos, and Arthur Johansen an old friend of Kent Larsen’s. The Sacrament talks were on the roles of mothers and fathers. Afterwards I went over to Ralph Ludder’s parent’s house in Los Alamitos to get Ralph’s address since I had lost touch with him.

I was sadden to hear that he and Brenda are having marital problems. Mrs. Ludders said that Ralph and Brenda are completely inactive in the church. That’s a shame. At least Ralph was able to find a teaching job out near Norco after graduating in elementary education

I stayed almost the whole evening catching up with the Ludders and talking to them about the Gospel. I’m sure I talked their ears off. There’s nothing I’d rather talk about then the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When I came back home to Garden Grove, Mom said that my friend Jerry Smith wanted me to call him back so I did. We talked catching up for a while but he wanted to tell me that he is getting married to Linda in March some time. That was great news. I wish my Linda would write me her intentions.

Additional Material

Jerry Lee Smith was my childhood friend. He and I were born on the same day and went to school together from Elementary through College.  His folks lived one block west on Poes Street.

 

6 January 1975 Monday

I sent in my application for the Spring term at BYU that will begin at the end of April.  I now have to fill out my student loan application. Things sure seem bleak economically.  There are so many people out of work. When I went down to the unemployment office to open my claim again, I was amazed at the long lines down there. They even filed out the door.

            People looked scared like there’s no more security anymore. I wonder how long people thought God would support them in their iniquity. The prophesizes of the Lord are upon us and His judgment is fierce.

            I looked on the job board down at the unemployment office and there was absolutely nothing available.

            I think Mom would like for me to go back to Utah so I could be happy once again. I was shocked to find out that Mom and Dad didn’t make over $8000 last year when Dad was laid up.

            California has a new Governor today, named Jerry Brown the son of Governor Edmund Brown.  I hope he can help the state and restore our faith in government. I know Ronald Reagan did more harm to the state than will ever be known.

            Well the Rocky Mountains is my home now so it doesn’t really matter. I hope I will get some mail soon. The Winter Term at BYU started today and I was there 2 years ago.

7 January 1975 Tuesday

Mom came home from work today because she has the flu. It rained for most of the day today so I didn’t get out much. I did have my student loan application notarized so I could send it off to BYU.

 

8 January 1975 Wednesday

I’m homesick for BYU more so than I have been in a long time. I’d just like to pack up and leave but I have no money thanks to the people I used to work for at Don Giovanni. They owe me about $500 more than enough to pay tuition and live on in Utah. How could they be like that? I went looking for work today but there’s not much prospects. Everyone seems to be out of work too.

 

9 January 1975 Thursday

It’s already way into the month and I still haven’t made any money what so ever with a car payment due soon plus my car tags, and insurance. The Pinto is my biggest fiscal problem but I can’t look for work without it.

            I went and stood in the long lines down at the unemployment office again to process my claim. It won’t be until the 21^st of this month before I receive an unemployment check and the Labor Board said it would be three to four weeks before I see any money owed to me from Don Giovanni.

            I get so discouraged especially since I haven’t heard from anyone back in Provo in so long. I am forgotten now that it’s a brand new semester for them. I don’t even have Piper Ballou Holmes out here anymore to talk to. Linda Prindle should at least write me and tell me where I stand with her one way or another.

            I went looking for work today filling out applications but it seems I waste more gas than anything else. What to do? Linda wrote in her last letter to me that it is easier to fear the future than trust in the Lord. That is what I must learn to do with all my heart. I need to learn to accept where I am and be happy in the Lord. But there’s so much uncertainty. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a rock to cling to at this time.

            John Cunningham turned 24 today. I wonder where he is and is he happy. Everything thing here reminds me of him. I need to leave this place behind and thoughts of him.  Wickedness was never happiness. Oh Well.

 

10 January 1975 Friday

I finally received a letter from Linda Prindle today. She said she would marry me. I was so happy. I went and told Mom that I was engaged to get married. She acted kind of funny, like she was glad but sad at the same time.  There’s lots of planning and thing to get done now that I have a purpose again.

            In away it feels kind of strange proposing through correspondence but it can’t be helped at this point.

            When Dad came home, Mom wanted to surprise/ shock him with the news but he disappointed her by saying he all ready knew it because last December at the employee party at Don Giovanni, I said something Frank Fararre’s wife which Dad had overheard about my feelings for Linda even back then.

            Naturally Mom and Dad are concerned over Linda’s epileptic illnesses because of Uncle Ed Danforth had the same condition but I have to keep an eternal perspective and Linda has the spiritual qualities I’d like in a wife forever.

            Mom said I could I could have her first engagement ring which is almost 30 years old to give to Linda. It needs cleaning but it’s pretty and means a lot to me because it was Mom’s. When I get more financial stable then I can buy Linda something better but that’s in the future now.

            I wrote Linda back immediately and will call her this weekend. I know I made the right decision no matter how much anxiety Satan places in front of me.

            I went to see Jerry Smith who is still living at his parents’ home until it can be sold. His dad died last year not long after his mother. I guess he and his Linda are getting married on 8 March and will go to Las Vegas for their honeymoon. How gentile.

            Mom and Dad took me out for dinner I guess to celebrate the news. I had a Porterhouse Steak which is the first time I’ve had steak in I don’t know how long. Perhaps at least a year or more when I had a steak with Wayne Tuck before he went on his mission. I watched the Richard Chamberlain in Count of Monte Cristo tonight on TV.      

Additional Material

My mom must have known that something was off about my proposing to a girl through a letter and not able to be with her for some months even if I was being delusional.       I was never in love with Linda Prindle and no sexual desire for her. She was a good person who I felt could help put me on a path to be in harmony with the Mormon Church’s insistence on celestial marriage.           The reason I waited to call Linda on the weekend because the long distant rates were so much cheaper and probably subconsciously I wasn’t processing what I had done.

 

11 January 1975 Saturday

I was up early this morning because Dad wanted to take me shopping do he could buy me a suit to get married in. I had to laugh because they are going a little bit overboard with the news, Besides I told them I had planned on being married in the temple and there you only wear white. But Mom and Dad still wanted me to go with them so I did. I finally picked out a dark forest green sports jacket and it was on sale for $16

            In the afternoon, Dad and I worked on the brakes on my Pinto. They needed adjusting.

            I called Linda Prindle today. She didn’t know at first who I was. She sounded awfully nervous like she gets when she is scared but once we started talking things smooth out between us. I guess she’s been having a hectic student teaching schedule. She also said that she lost her wallet the other day. Between she and me, we might as well go on welfare. Ha!

            I told her I wanted to come up in mid-March to start getting settled in and I’d liked for us to get married I April but that’s probably not practical.

            Today was Ralph Ludder’s birthday and he was down visiting his parents from Norco. He called me up and wanted to know If I wanted to go out some place to visit and catch up. I said sure. I then drove over to Los Alamitos to pick him up from his folks. I sure love being around the Ludders. They are good people.

We drove around, picked up some Taco Bell food and parked in the parking lot at Cypress College where we could visit. He and Brenda have separated ad she’s still back in Texas. I guess things aren’t going so well between them. She’s getting mixed up in this Satanic Women’s Liberation Movement and their marriage is crumbling. It’s awful for Ralph but there’s nothing I can do but listen to him. I love Ralph but I also told him he was partial to blame by always not having time for the church when it was the only thing that could have saved his marriage.

 

12 January 1975 Sunday

I went to church today. Sunday School started at noon and I attended the genealogy class where only Sister Bell and Sister Gunnarson and I were there. I knew more than the teacher. Right afterwards was Fast and Testimony  which lasted until 2:30. We have a new Missionary Elder assigned to our ward.

            Well this is the start of a brand new week and let’s see if I can be closer to the Master. Mom said Grandma Johnson called and said that my cousin Kay Ballard’s baby little Neal is very sick and is in the hospital down in Houston. My Aunt Pauline Johnson is flying down to be with Kay. I’ve never seen Little Neal Roderick Ballard but he was named for Grandma Johnson grandfather Neal McLeod

            I read from the Joseph Smith Inspired Version of the Bible but other than that hadn’t done much today.

 

13 January 1975 Monday

I received a letter in the mail today from Mike Allred. He said that John Baugh, his roommate had quit school and went home to go on a Mission. There’s only three in that apartment again now. Mike said that John pulled a “Ben” by up and leaving without saying goodbye.

            He’s dying to know what’s going on between Linda Prindle and me. He said Janie Posey is getting married in April. Both Michael and I had dated Janie at one time but I was the most serious. He said that Ken and Nancy Lewis are expecting their baby any day now. It was a short letter and I could tell he was acting strange from the way he wrote it

            I went job hunting today and I applied for a cook position down in Balboa. It’s a little far to drive but it was for $3 an hour.

            I am seriously considering paying off my car with what I get from Don Giovanni and then return to Utah to look for work there. My unemployment check will get me by for a while. It was a nice day out today down at the beach.

 

14 January 1975 Tuesday

My nephew Michael Louis Wachs  was born today at 9:45 this morning. I have been home in California for the birth of all my sister Charline’s children.

            This morning I dreamed that Mike Allred’s letter had mentioned whether Michael Louis was born or not and that that very instant I woke up from the phone ringing.  It was 4:30 in the morning and Dennis Wachs called Mom to say that Charline was getting her labor pains and he was taking her to the hospital this morning.

            Dad had to work and mom was going to meet Dennis in Fontana so I drove up to Corona where I stayed to watch over Denise and James. Dennis then took Charline to the Fontana Hospital about 6:30 this morning

            I was so tired as I hadn’t gone to bed until 11 last night. However I fixed the kids their breakfast and cleaned Charline’s messy house and especially did up all the dishes that had been left in the sink for who knows how long.

Mom called about 11:30 to say Charline had a baby boy. I hadn’t really thought it would be a girl since the Lord showed me in a dream Charline’s completed family in the summer of 1973 when I saw the cutest lovingest little boy. Glory to God.

            Michael weighed 9 pounds 13 ounces almost a 10 pound baby and nearly twice the weight I was when I was born at 5 pounds. He’s a big and beautiful baby boy according to Mom. His middle name Louis was for Grandpa Louis Williams but the Michael was unbeknownst to Charline was for Michael Allred, Few will ever know that I pressed Charline to name the baby Michael. Charline didn’t know why but it was because of Allred.

            Well the big day is here at last but I am completely worn out scrubbing Charline’s house and babysitting. Since Charline is staying overnight in Fontana I took the kids home to Garden Grove from Corona to spend the night. Tomorrow we will go back up to Corona. However I have to look for work before I can babysit anymore.

            Tomorrow is Dennis Wach’s grandma’s birthday . She’ll be upset that the baby couldn’t wait one more day.

            It was very hot today for January as it was way up around 85 degrees. I even let the kids play in the water in the backyard as it was so warm. However it was a beautiful clear day on which to be born.

            In the news, Russia rejected the trade agreement with the U.S. which would have allowed the Jews to immigrate to Israel.

 

15 January 1975 Wednesday

I received a letter from Linda Prindle saying we should get married as soon as possible. I agree.

            I took James and Denise to the park today so they could play on the swings. It was another very warm day. They had fun but were wearing me out and they were getting tired by the time we came home. James was crying because he missed his mommy and daddy. Charline had to have two pints of blood so I think I will have to give some of mine so they don’t charge them. I think I heard that blood was $40 a pint.

            Mom and I went up to the Kaiser Hospital in Fontana to see Charline and the baby. Charline looked alright after her operation today. Michael Louis Wachs looked beautiful. Mom said he has the Johnson chin. He slept most of the time we were there quite unconcerned or aware of us staring at him. They misspelled his last name on his wrist band as “baby boy Wacks”. I think Dennis was peeved over that one.

            I saw some twins there in the nursery who together weighed less than 5 pounds. They were so tiny. If one could see these little tiny bodes, abortion would make one furious. All the babies look so fresh and innocent straight from the presence of Heavenly Father. Catholic dogma comes straight from Satan saying that if these babies die they would go to limbo and out of the presence of God.

 

16 January 1975 Thursday

Mom woke me up at 8 this morning crying. She said that her dog Bootsie got out and was ran over by a car and she wanted me to retrieve him and bury her in the backyard. Mom was extremely upset and Bootsie was such a sweet little doggie, always jumping up so high so glad to see you.  I know there will be a resurrection of animals too because what would heaven be without them?

            I spent most of the rest of the morning standing in a line that wrapped clear around the building where I was being interviewed for a new coffee shop called Alphy’s. There were so many people in line for so few positions. There must have been a hundred people waiting and I’ve never seen jobs this hard to get. It’s kind of scary. Before it was just trying to find a good job but now it’s just trying to find any job at all.

            I heard Mom say that Charline and Dennis may lose their house in Corona because they are so financially irresponsible.  Charline never did like living so far away from Mom and Dad.

Additional Material

Alphy’s Coffee Shops were subsidiaries of the Alpha Beta Grocery Stores that started in Orange county but was later bought out by Lucky’s Supermarkets.

 

17 January 1975 Friday

Mom and I took care of my nephew and niece James and Denise today. Latter in the evening Mom and Dad took them to with them to the grocery store and bought groceries for my sister and brother in law Charline and Dennis. I guess Dennis was unable to come up with the $400 to keep their house in Corona.

 

18  January 1975 Saturday

Mom and Dad went up to Corona today because Charline came home with the baby. Mom said Denise was jealous but James acted the same way when she was born.

            I wrote President Ahlander my old branch president about being advanced in the Priesthood because my Bishop here is dragging his feet because he doesn’t know me.

            While visiting with my neighbors Tom and Jean Horan, they kind of scared me about getting my money from Don Giovanni. They said it might take months even a year to recover any of my back salary. I hope not.

Additional Material

"Mandy" by Barry Manilow is the Number 1 song for the week.

 

19 January 1975 Sunday

Today is Dad’s 50^th birthday having been born in Portales, New Mexico. Mom and Dad bought 4 new fruit trees for the back yard and some berry plants. Even though it was Sunday I helped Dad dig the holes and plant them.

            It was very warm again today about 85 degrees.

            I went to Sunday School and Sacrament but not to Priesthood. It’s humiliating to be a Deacon still when they take roll and besides there are no one my age in the Elders Quorum but older married men.  In my genealogy class Sister Gunnarson was interested in my genealogy research from the Middle Ages.  While visiting with Arthur Johansson, he told me that he was going into the Air Force instead of going to BYU. Things are financially rough for everyone.

            If I wanted to join the service myself, I could probably be officer material because of all my college courses. That’s one plus I suppose from having spent 5 years and so much time in college.  I actually wouldn’t even consider the idea of joining the military but times are rough.

Additional Material

Not only had I been very vocal about my opposition to the Vietnam War, I also knew that my homosexual inclination would have made life very difficult in a hyper masculine environment where fighting was encouraged not discourage.

 

20 January 1975 Monday

This morning I went back down to the unemployment office  where I got an interview at the Woolworth store in Fullerton as the manager of the snack bar there. They seemed to be interested in me and my experience but so many others were applying also. My interview wasn’t until 4 so earlier in the day I cleaned the house for Mom who went back to work . I also went to the Post Office to buy stamps to mail off my letters I wrote today for my friends in Utah.

 

21 January 1975 Tuesday

It was another depressing day. This morning I went down to the unemployment office to see what was being done about my back pay and getting unemployment check. I sat and waited for over an hour before I was interviewed about my case. The claim officer said that since he couldn’t get a hold of Don Baldwin or John LaCoco. I couldn’t get an okay for .unemployment. He sent me home and told me to call him back later. That was really upsetting.

            I came back home after the interview at the unemployment office and cleaned the house and made dinner for Mom and Dad. When I called him later in the afternoon the claims officer  said he still hadn’t gotten a hold of them.

            I did get a letter from the Alphy Coffee Shop saying I was hired but only as a kitchen prep worker. I won’t start until January 30^th. There was also had a letter from my Aunt Minnie Williams wishing Dad a happy birthday. I wrote her back.

            I was so antsy today that I over to Cypress College where I ran a half mile.

Additional Material

I actually went more to cruise the college boys there as much as to run. I could have used the running track at my old high school, Rancho Alamitos, after the kids were out, which was just down the street if my intentions were just to run.

 

22 January 1975 Wednesday

I received my student loan papers in the mail today so I can return to BYU. I wouldn’t’ have needed them if I would have been paid for all the hours I worked at Don Giovanni.  I took the forms down to Great Western Savings and Loans to have them process them. I guess I am accepted back at BYU although they haven’t sent me anything official yet.

            In the afternoon I called the claims officer again at the unemployment office and he said he finally was able to get a hold of Don Baldwin verifying my claim. He wants me to come down to the office in Garden Grove tomorrow at 8 in the morning.

            I went to Cypress College and ran another half mile.

 

23 January 1975 Thursday

I went in early to the unemployment office and my claim was finally approved and I will get back pay from the time I first applied and will until I start work at Alphy’s next week. It will be enough for a car payment at least.

            Back at the house, I laid out in the sun in the backyard because it was so warm. I also read more from the scriptures to keep me from sinning. I read from 1^st and 2^nd Samuel in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is so inspiring .

            In the mail I received my acceptance from BYU to attend the Spring term. I also received two letters, one from Linda Prindle and one from Mardene Francis. Mardene wrote that she will be going into the Mission Home soon and is so excited. Linda said she’d like for us to get married sometime in April if I am made an Elder by the so we can get married in the Temple.

 

24 January 1975 Friday

I read from St. Luke in the New Testament today while lying out in the backyard sun tanning myself. I went to Cypress College and ran a half mile.

 

25 January 1975 Saturday

This afternoon Mom, Dad, and I went to Corona to see the baby. Mom and Dad also brought with them several bags of groceries and some clothes for the kids to help out.  James will start school on Monday and I think he’s in the 1^st grade. He’s getting to be such a big boy.

            James was a little jealous of Michael when Mom was fussing over him, so I took the baby and Mom rocked James in her arms. He lived with Mom and Dad for almost the first two years of his life before Charline married Dennis Wachs.

Michael  is so cute and so big for a new born. Charline had to put him on bottle feeding because he was too hard on her breast feeding.  Denise sure put up a fuss when Mom and Dad was leaving because she wanted to go home with us.

In the evening I called Linda Prindle up. She cracks me up because she still hasn’t earned to recognize my voice over the phone. I was kind of lonesome so I thought I’d give her a call. She said she was kind of blue this week because the mail hadn’t delivered my letters to her and she thought I hadn’t written. It was so good to talk  with her for about an hour. Boy is my phone bill is going to high but it’s worth it.  I think we need to talk as well as just write one another. We want to get married in April if I can get my Melchizedek Priesthood by then.

Additional Material

"Please Mr. Postman" by the Carpenters number 1 song for the week.

 

26 January 1975 Sunday

In church today I talked to Bro. Cushing about my status in the Priesthood and how I want to get married in April. I had the Ward Clerk send for my records because they still haven’t arrived from Utah.

            I sat and talked with Arthur Johansson. He’s a great guy and wish we could have been closer friends.

            Dad planted some more in the backyard garden. He put in some blueberries, asparagus, and onions. We spent some time fertilizing the fruit trees we had planted.

            I wrote Mike Allred and Linda Prindle letters today.

 

27 January 1975 Monday

I received two letters today one from Linda Prindle and ne from Mike Allred. Linda says she is almost done with her student teaching so that’s great. Mike wrote and said that Ken and Nancy Lewis finally had their Temple Sealing  just in time for Ken’s baby who is due any day now. It’s cooled off considerably from what it’s been.

 

28 January 1975 Tuesday

I had another letter from Linda Prindle today. It sure is great to get mail from her. She said my phone call to her really helped. It’s sad that we should be so far apart at this time but in another six weeks we will be together again.

 

29 January 1975 Wednesday

Another letter came today from Linda Prindle. In it she wrote that she talked to Ken Lewis the other day and Nancy had their baby, a boy they named Ryan. I wrote Linda back and I told her we should try for the 15^th of April for a wedding date. We have to set a goal I should think.

            I went to Cal-State Long Beach and went to their library to work on some genealogy there in their library. It’s not much but better than nothing.

 In the news I heard the radical hippie group called the Weather Underground set off a bomb at the state department in Washington DC. Nobody was hurt just a lot of damage.

 

30 January 1975 Thursday

Today I started work at my new job at Alphy’s Coffee Shop. I had to be in at 9 this morning and worked until 4 in the afternoon. We were mostly in orientation training  until the afternoon when we did a lot of cleaning.

            It rained for most of the day and it was damp and miserable out. I wrote Linda Prindle today even though there was little to write about.

I received my W2 forms from BYU today and a letter from Grandma Johnson in the mail. She wrote that Mom’s first cousin Audie Smith was interested in having a copy of the McLeod and Fenter research I’ve done. I’m glad someone besides me is interested in the family’s history.

            I also received a notice from the Labor Board finally  that I will go to court on February 25^th at 2 in the afternoon to receive my back pay from Don Giovanni. I was so worried that it would take much longer. I just hope I receive the funds before I go back to Utah.

Additional Material

Unbeknown to me, BYU administrators had sent its security officers to quash  a “homosexual ring “ on campus at the end of January . Security officers descended en masse on the Harris Fine Arts Center and took all the male drama and ballet students out of their classes to interrogate them in the hallways about who they suspected or heard were homosexual. Later I heard some of the drama students involved in the “Purge of ‘75” had tee shirts printed up at the BYU bookstore which read “I’m on the list-are you?” That may have been an Urban Legend.

 

31 January 1975 Friday

This morning Mom woke me up at 6 in the morning so I could get ready and be down at Alphy’s at 7. It was a wasted trip however because we were suppose to learn how to run the industrial dishwasher but the hot water for the building still hadn’t been turned on yet.  We did do some work but at 9 they sent us home and asked us to come back at 1 in the afternoon.

            So I went home and back to bed for a little while until Jerry Smith came over wanting to know if I wanted to go out to lunch with him. I had to decline because I said I hadn’t any money yet.

In the mail I received a notice from Great Western Savings and Loan that my loan application had been approved.

When I went back to work, they still hadn’t turned the water back on but I did receive my work schedule. I will be working the graveyard shift from 11 at night until 7 in the morning. I actually wanted it that way so I could attend my Sunday church meetings.

On the way home I stopped by the Funky Taco to see my sister Donna. She didn’t look well at all. She hardly talked to me as if I was a stranger.

At home Mom was upset because Grandma Johnson had called and said Grandpa was in the hospital. My uncle J.W Johnson called and said that Grandpa went in for a checkup about his prostrate but he’s fine. The doctors said he was in good health.

In the news the Skid Row Slasher killed his 9^th victim in Los Angeles. He cut’s the throat of his victims from ear to ear and picks mainly of derelicts.

It was a cold wintry day and it rained a little bit in the afternoon. I’m missing my honey  today but just six more weeks until I can be with her.

I’ve been trying to figure out my taxes for 1974. I made less than $1300 all last year and most of that was from October to December much of the time not receiving my salary.

 

FEBRUARY1975

1 February 1975 Saturday

It was a cold chilly first day of February and Mom and Dad went t Corona to see the kids. While they were gone I called Linda Prindle and we talked for about 45 minutes. She was doing just fine and she found her lost wallet with everything in it okay. Linda said she wanted to get married on April 12^th because it was a Saturday and it would be easiest for her parents to be there. We hope to be married in Manti. It sure was great to talk to Linda. Each time I do I feel better and more sure of our decision.

            My Aunt Bonnie Fagen called to say that Grandma and Grandpa Williams were down from Yucaipa. I guess my cousin Larry Fagen is home for a while. He’ll be stationed in Chicago pretty soon.

            My uncle and aunt R.L. and Jerrie Williams are coming down next week to take Grandma and Grandpa up to Northern California to stay with them for a while.  I told Grandma that I was getting married and she asked if Linda was a Mormon. What could I say?

Additional Material

"Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka is the number 1 song for the week.

 

2 February 1975 Sunday

Today was Fast and Testimony Sunday and I attended all my meetings except Priesthood. This morning I was woken by the sounds of my sister Donna and her boyfriend Ken Jones at home. I was up, took a shower, and got dressed when I saw that Donna and Ken were having breakfast with Mom and Dad which surprised me because this is the first time I’ve ever seen them over at the house.

            I guess they moved out of Ken’s parent’s house after having a row with them and Donna wanted to stay here. Donna was so upset she was crying. Naturally Mom is going to let them stay.

            I went to Sunday School and Testimony meeting which lasted from noon to 3 in the afternoon. When I came back to the house, Donna had left for work and I talked a little to Ken trying to make him feel comfortable here.  I know it must feel awkward.

            At 7:30 in the evening I went to a stake fireside where Bishop Holme gave a talk. It was special being with young people again who have a strong testimony of the Gospel. I later wrote Linda Prindle and when I went to bed Donna had come in from work.

 

3 February 1975 Monday

There were no letters in the mail and it was a rainy day for the most part. In the late afternoon I took Ken Jones up to Cypress College and helped him figure up how much more he needed to graduate. He’s only lacking 20 units. We decided it would be better for him to stay at Cal State Long Beach to graduate  rather than switching to Cal State Fullerton.

            Tomorrow, Donna and he are going to get a marriage license and a blood test do I guess they will get married soon. I am finally getting to know Ken better and he seems to be a really nice guy. All this unpleasantness between us and him could have been avoided if Donna and he would have let us get to know him better. Ken and I do have a lot on common.

            With each passing day I’ll be that much closer to Linda Prindle. I wonder how she feels about me being so far away. I think once I go back to Provo. I’’ take her out to a real nice restaurant and propose to her again and then give her an engagement ring. That would be nice.

            I start work tomorrow. What a drag but it’s a good thing that I’ll start working again because besides needing the money it will make the time pass quicker.

            I tried to figure out my income taxes again but since three of the places I worked for never sent me my W2 forms. I am kind of stuck.

            It’s funny how Donna will get married about the same time she first got married in 1968. That seems so long ago now and I guess it was. We were all so different then. I was newer and fresher and didn’t have as many mistakes behind me. I use to say God forgive us the follies of our youth but what shall I say now that I am a man?

 

4 February 1975 Tuesday

It’s been real difficult today trying to get enough sleep without over sleeping. It rained for most of the day. While my sister Donna and Ken Jones were out their car wouldn’t start so they called me this morning and I went out so they could jump it off my battery.

            While I was out I went clothes shopping because I had but a pair of dark colored pants for work tonight that they required at Alphy’s.

            Donna and Ken are planning to get married on the 12^th of this month. They have been calling to see exactly how much it will cost them. The marriage license is $6 and all their medical tests will come to about $35. Then $10 for a ring and $5 to pay the judge.  Then Ken will have to get something to be married in. He doesn’t have much more than blue jeans and tee-shirts. I guess that is the California style now.

            I drew a map on the front of this journal of where I think the lands of the Book of Mormon were. I didn’t get any mail today.

            When you have been getting a lot, it’s kind of disappointing not to be getting any.  Nothing else more to say. It sure is different  than last year at this time. It seems like I was always doing something.

            I started work at 11 tonight and will work until 7 in the morning. I prayed to my heavenly father that everything will be okay. I have to write Linda Prindle tomorrow so she won’t be as lonesome as I am.

 

5 February 1975 Wednesday

It was really miserable being on the graveyard shift at Alphy’s Coffee Shop. It was so slow and the work so menial. There was just me and a Mexican kid as kitchen helpers and dishwashers. Our  supervisor is just bad news. He’s always on you to do something else before you even finish what you are doing. It’s just menial work and I don’t like it.

            When I came home at 7:30 I wrote Linda Prindle a letter telling her about my work. Then I went to bed to get some sleep after staying up all night. I woke up at noon because it was so light out that I couldn’t sleep anymore.

            I found letters from Marietta Clark and Mike Allred in the mail. The one from Mike is so touching that I have to rewrite it in this journal so I will always have it.

            I then went back to bed and slept until about 5in the afternoon. Mom, Dad, Donna, and Ken Jones were eating fried chicken that mom had fixed for dinner.  Mom said there was a letter from Linda Prindle that I had overlooked. It was a real neat letter. She wanted to know my favorite things.

            For the rest of the evening before getting ready for work, I sat and visited with Donna and Ken. Ken said he’s out looking for work but it’s kind of hard his having no work experience. He’s my age and has never held down a job. That’s kind of weird. Donna has been supporting them both.

            I then watched some TV before going into work at Alphy’s at 11 tonight. This is the gist of Mike’s letter-

2 February 1975

Provo, Utah 84601

Dear Ben, The first thing that I’m going to say is- if you have any doubts or cold feet about what you are doing read the February Ensign. (Just came out) “The marriage Decision by President Kimball.” It drives the point pretty well home to all of us old bachelors. If I only knew and loved anyone enough at all. I’d do it, get married that its. President Kimball says even the statement “ I couldn’t find the right girl” is no excuse when we get to heaven.  Benjito, I am with you all the way and know that it will be good for both you and Linda.  I feel kind of a lone bachelor now except for M. Pitcher and we’ll probably run a race to the finish line. You mentioned in your letter that no one needed to talk about you and Linda. I talked, yes, to all the people I thought would like to know. How can there be such a thing as gossip when there’s nothing to gossip about? You’re getting married aren’t you? Ever since Linda called me up and told me I’ve been waiting for your letter to tell me but when it finally came and didn’t mention anything I was rather upset. Sure I’m excited for you. I know this  is what you wanted for a long time. It’s something you have dreamed about for a long time isn’t it?  I know because it’s something I dream about.  Ben I am a very lonely person. Really. All my life up to last year I’ve only had one friend outside of my family. He’s the friend I told you about. We ran around together and everything until about the 11^th grade, then we went our different ways. Lynn is still a good friend but not like we were. Other than that, no one. Sure I have lots of friends but not anyone anymore whom I feel close as “one” to. I guess I have isolated myself, my inner most self from people- even my immediate brothers and parents.  I don’t like to do things alone so rather than do that I don’t do them.  I praise the day when I won’t have to worry about being alone. I guess I have grown up being very distrustful of other people. There are so few who really care. All my life I have listened to other people’s problems; they this and they that, hour after hour, day after day, year after year but at the times I needed to talk. I’ve been shut off with flippancy. This does not include you. The other person’s experiences and problems have always  been more important . Maybe this is a martyr’s complex, I don’t know. One reason Kathy and I were good friends was that she listened. I probably opened up more to her than anyone else. Honestly I don’t know why. There is just something there that others don’t have. That’s what made you so mad. I talked a lot to Kathy about personal matters. Don’t feel left out Ben, cause you have your place in this too.  Your one of the very few persons I know who makes friends more important than material things. You sincerely are willing to go without that others (your friends)  might have. You have been very good to me and I certainly do appreciate it.  Of course there were problems  but things like that don’t really count, I haven’t been able to love  and give as much as you and I probably won’t be able to for some time.  I don’t know.  Forgive me for being a false person cause that’s just what I am. Yes because  of little things last year , I built up inside me mistrust for you.  I tried to fight it but you know who won. Satan did. I can’t communicate with someone I don’t trust and I don’t trust  many people. I think the main reason for this is that I don’t trust even myself and as a result I’m not even loyal to myself. I have always let others’ opinions have more precedence  than mine own. I am just now coming to the point to do what is good for me first spiritually and then worry about other opinions. I have to love myself before I can love someone else. Do you see my problem why it’s so hard for me to show love? Life is a never ending battle of perseverance. The catastrophe that I’m not willing to talk with you about is because I can’t even talk about it with myself. And I don’t want to. Everything starts from the inside of a person. If that inside is unsuccessful so will the outside be also. Anyway. Sure I would be glad to be your best man. I don’t feel worthy of it and will probably feel guilty too, but if it’s  what you want yes- You haven’t asked me tough, only referred that you would like it. In your last letter you had turned serious and felt like you took my last letter wrong. I wasn’t poking fun of anyone that was getting married. My latest letters (note letters and not letter) have been quite superficial though, I do admit. I’ve been superficial.  I hope you make your way through this jumbled up mess. I’m just thinking and writing. I did this once before and didn’t mail it. Remember the letter just after you left in October? When you left all of a sudden I was shaken up and surprised. I knew last semester was going to be lonely and when you left I was truly alone. For a while, I did get over it  in a few weeks though because Mike Pitcher and I have become good friends = goof off friends = if you understand. Anyway when you left I had tears in my eyes for most of the day. I was disturbed  because I didn’t know why. And to this day  I don’t fully understand the reason why because I really don’t. Well I wrote  a long letter soon after that but never mailed it. I knew if I waited for a week I would get over it and so I planned  on mailing right away however my organization kept me from it and soon changed my mind = you see it’s just hard for me because I talk my old hard self back so easily. This semester (for a major requirement) I am taking a communication class  and it’s an answer to a prayer. I am learning  so much about inter-personal communication and self worth. I love the class. By the way we have already talked about “touch”. I believe in it now but not ready for it. When you were my roommate and would sit on my bed it made me nervous because of our social connotation of it. That’s why I would yell at you. It wasn’t your fault but mine. However I am not ready for that either. Eric my new roommate is very loud. There is nothing between us. I ignore him but am trying to be a little interested but I feel turned off too. You were a good roommate. The only person I could yell at and say “shut up I want to go to sleep.”  Do you realize I have never been able to do that to anyone else? I wonder if it means something. Can you just anybody that?  I yelled at you and you yelled at me whenever we felt like it. (almost) and I guess was quite often.

            Ben will you forgive me for being a two faced, insincere, untrusting? I want you to know you will always be my friend. I won’t be able to show it always and at times when Satan is out it’ll seem like enemies but it isn’t. Even though certain things bug me about you, and you’re a “different” person. That only means you are a human being and yes, a child of God. I’m sorry if at times I made you think differently. When I think about it I pity the person who gets stuck with me for eternity. Anyway it won’t be boring.

            Last year when I kept going with Mardene it was mostly because with Mardene I wasn’t alone and if I quit seeing her I would be. You see I fooled myself and her too. I wrote her a letter and apologized and told her she would always be a friend which she us. I’m sorry she went through so much. She entered the mission home yesterday. The mission will do her good. It does everyone.

            Ben I am still trying to get your membership from the 39^th Branch. The clerk there must be engaged because he’s never home. I’ve talked to him and he said he’d call me tonight but hasn’t done it yet. I’ll keep trying though.

            Well as you have noticed by now this is one big confession paper. You see Ben, I’m trying so hard to be the person I want to be. Someday I will work with young people and I need to develop myself. This has been the most disorganized part of my life.

            Thanks for listening to this. You see I do need to talk at times without anyone butting in and you’re the only one who is the closest to a good listener. You and Kathy have done more for me than any other friend. Think kindly of Kathy, she and you are very much alike.  She called me two weeks ago and talked to me for an hour.  You are why I like her. She cares about me too. I do respect both of you.

            Don’t worry about a place to stay. You know our couch is empty.

            Linda is doing good. We have had some good talks. She’s nervous but happy.  I’m happy for you too.

Well Bye for now

Your confessed out friend

 Love Mike

PS this is going in the mail  before my mind. Better hope-

PSS Ken and Nancy had a baby boy Ryan Scott Lewis 7 lbs. Ken says he’s got his nose but I don’t think so not yet anyway. Also has Ken’s fingernails, they say. I even got to hold him.

PSSS They are trying to line me up with Nancy’s cousin too.

PSSSS I can say I love Ken too. Now. Can’t live with him but like him. I like/love you too. Maybe I just can’t live with you. Eh?

 

6 February 1975 Thursday

This is my second night at Alphy’s Coffee Shop and I worked until 7 this morning. I am very dissatisfied with my job mainly because of my supervisor. When I came home I slept until noon then got up. Mom said the Park Pantry Restaurant was looking for help so I went down there to apply.

            I talked to Mom and Donna most of the afternoon before going back to bed and sleeping until 9 at night. I went back into work at 11.

 

7 February 1975 Friday

I worked until 7 this morning then went home and slept until about 5 in the afternoon. I watched the Night Stalker with Ken Jones and my sister Donna. I went back into work at 11. I got paid $24.75.

 

8 February 1975 Saturday

I This morning I quit when I found out Alphy’s was taking 27 cents an hour out of wages supposed for food so I was only make $2 an hour for a graveyard shift. I couldn’t work for that so I quit.

Additional Material

"Fire"  by Ohio Players was number 1 song for the week

 

9 February 1975 Sunday

After Sacrament I talked to Arthur Johansen  a lot. On TV was the movie Airport . I watched it with Mom, Donna, and Ken Jones.

Additional Material

Airport was a 1970 disaster movie featuring Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin and Van Heflin who threatens to blow up the airliner.

 

 

10 February 1975 Monday

I went down to the unemployment office at 7:30 this morning and stood in line until 9. Then I was just given an appointment date for the 13^th of February to see if I can get any back money. I went to some places to look for work but I didn’t find anything. Ken Jones quit his job too. Donna’s car is not working either which is another problem for Donna to get to work.

 

11 February 1975 Tuesday

I went down to the King’s Table Coffee Shop but it was such a greasy spoon of I a place that I couldn’t work there and it was a type of sweat shop.

            I closed my savings account today. I only had $10 in it anyway. I gave $5 of it to mom. Donna and Ken Jones are having problems with Ken’s parents again. I saw a side of Ken today I did not like. He was belittling and swearing at Donna. That is one thing I can’t stand for but I kept my mouth shut  rather than make matters worse for Donna. Today was a pretty day after it stopped raining like it did Sunday and Monday.

 

12 February 1975 Wednesday

There was nothing in the mail today. It was quite a nice pretty day. I worked on my car some because a hose to the transmission keeps slipping off.

            Donna and Ken Jones were out looking for work for Ken for most of the day. In the afternoon I went into the backyards and cut some of the limbs down from the Chinese Elm Tree that’s in the middle of the yard that Mom wanted me to trim.

            Mom fixed fried chicken for dinner. Donna and I went grocery shopping for mom at Alpha Beta at the Stanton Plaza. In the evening I watched TV primarily.

            About 11 I called Utah to talk to Mike Allred. It was really good to hear his  voice. He said I could come and stay with them in the apartment in Provo. He’s not getting along too well with his new roommate. I sure miss Mike. He’s a great guy. He says he’s staying in Provo this summer.

 

13 February 1975 Thursday

My sister Donna and Ken Jones were married today in Santa Ana by a Judge. Mom and Dad had to work so they didn’t get to go. I don’t think Ken wanted them there anyway. Since Dad said they had to be married if they are living under his roof.  Donna and Ken have been married in all but name only, for a while anyway. Donna was married in a long green print dress which tied in the back. Ken wore a shirt and slacks. It doesn’t seem like they even got married . I’m glad the church has taught me enough to get married in the Temple.           

I have felt weak and feverish all day. I guess I am coming down with the flu. It was cold rainy day.

            this is morning at 9 I had to go to the unemployment office to pick up an unemployment check. I got $27. I also went and picked up my paycheck from Alphy's where I made $71 but only cleared 46. It was unbelievable how much they had taken out. I shouldn’t have any problem getting back on unemployment.

            In the mail I had a letter and a Valentine Card from Linda Prindle.  Linda said her Branch President won’t give her a temple recommend until 2 weeks before she plans to get married. I wrote her back saying I thought we might ought to wait until August but I’ll wait for her to decide. 

Grandma Johnson also sent a letter today. I sent ZCMI and Westward Café letters asking for my W2 forms.

            I made my February Car Payment for the Pinto. I only have three more payments to go before it’s paid off. I just hope the car will last for a while after it’s paid for.

I will probably  go back to Utah shortly after the first of March. No sense being here in California any longer.  I’m not even going to look for work but just collect unemployment. Donna and I going down next week to see if we are eligible for food stamps. Why not?

Additional Material

Ken Jones always resented my Dad for making Donna and him get married. Dad said that if they were going to sleep together under his roof they had to get married. Ken resented anyone telling him what to do my sister Donna was running out of options since Ken’s own family kicked them out.  There was a riff between Ken and Donna and my folks from the start.

 

14 February 1975 Friday

I still had the residue affects of the flu today. I’m kind of achy and groggy although not as feverish as yesterday. It was  a warm day. In the afternoon I spent most of the time visiting with Ken Jones who is now my brother in law. I also swapped bedrooms  and moved back into my old middle room so that Donna and Ken could have more privacy . They went to Disneyland  tonight and I spent the evening watching Kolchak: The Night Stalker and some TV.

            It seems like the economy is falling apart around us. The people look to Washington for leadership and all we get are WIN buttons because they are so busy robbing the people they can’t lead.  There is no faith or trust in the government anymore after lying to us about Vietnam and Watergate.

            Immorality is so rampant that it taints all aspects of life and none can escape. There’s crimes against life, murders, and adultery is rampant too. No one seems to speak the truth anymore. Everyone is skeptical of all authority and people are cynical and hedonistic.

            The church is my only refuge from Babylon. Zion is where the pure in heart will dwell. O Zion, Zion, I long they gates to see. O Zion, Zion when shall I dwell in thee? 

  Additional Material

President Ford took office in August 1974 amidst one of the worst economic crises in US history, marked by high unemployment and inflation rising to 12.3% that year following the 1973 oil crisis. As a Republican, Ford favored the WIN campaign's emphasis on addressing the problem through voluntary actions of citizens, instead of price restrictions imposed centrally by a big government bureaucracy. In a speech entitled "Whip Inflation Now", he announced a series of proposals for public and private steps intended to directly affect supply and demand to bring inflation under control. Suggested actions for citizens included carpooling, turning down thermostats, and starting their own vegetable gardens.

"WIN" buttons immediately became objects of ridicule;

 

15 February 1975 Saturday

This afternoon my brother in law Dennis Wachs came down with his truck to help Dad, Ken Jones, and me clean up the limbs from the Chinese Elm Tree and the Oleander bushes from out o in the back yard to take to the landfill.

            Donna was at work at the Funky Taco for most of the day. When we were through with the yard work, Mom and Dad followed Dennis back up to Corona to see the grandkids. I didn’t go as I am not feeling as well as I could be.

            I received a letter from Mike Allred today telling me that my membership records were in the 41^st Branch all along and never had been transferred to the other two Branches I attended while at BYU last summer.

Additional Material

The song "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt is number 1 for the week.

 

16 February 1975 Sunday

I was zonked out today because of the flu. I feel miserable, However I did go over to the Ludders to see if I could get a hold of Ralph Ludders before I go back to Utah. I was surprised to find that Ralph was at his parents in Los Alamitos. I guess he and Brenda have split up for good and he moved back home from Norco because it was too lonely for him up there after she left. Brenda has filed for a divorce. It’s so sad for Ralph because she has been cheating on him. When I told him while listening to the car radio that I like the song When Will I See you Again, he said that he hated that song because it reminding him of Brenda cheating on him.

            Back at the house I watched the musical Oliver that was on TV tonight. It was pretty good. “Where Is Love?”

Additional Material

Billboard named the song When Will I See you again by the Three Degrees #67 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. The Three Degrees performed the song at Prince Charles' 30th birthday party at Buckingham Palace in 1978.

 

17 February 1975 Monday

Today is George Washington’s Birthday holiday. Dad had the day off but mom had to work. Ralph Ludders had the day off from teaching also and he came over to take me to his house in Norco. I also went with him to his classroom. It seems weird that Ralph is really already teaching and I have no career. We were in college together at Cypress where I first met him in 1970. If he can become a teacher why can’t I? There’s no reason.

            While we were at his house, we mowed his lawn that he let go and then just had a serious talk about our lives. He revealed all that had happened to cause Brenda to leave by having an affair with her co-worker. It is hard to believe that Brenda could change like that. Ralph said she told him that she never loved him but I know she did. I was at their wedding as Ralph’s best man. Ralph still loves her even though she left him.

Additional Material

Ralph Ludders married in 1970 and his wife Brenda Maloney worked to help get him through college while I was still struggling with my sexual identity and putting my energies into Mormonism as a panacea for my unwanted homosexuality. Ralph was the first person I ever told that I was in love with John Cunningham.

 

18 February 1975 Tuesday

Donna had the day off from the Funky Taco and she took Ken Jones out looking for work today. I spent time in the backyard digging up the Oleander bushes on the north side of the cinder block fence. Mom wanted them gone after all these years that actually had shielded the view into the Casas’ back yard.

            I’m still feeling rather achy from the flu.

Additional Material

The family of George and Sophie Casas lived to the north of us on Dale Street and their son Phil Casas, who was two years older than me, was my sexual partner from about 1964 until 1967 when he graduated from high school and married and raised a family.  He became quite successful as a realtor and developer but committed suicide 3 Aug 1996 at the aged of 47.

 

19 February 1975 Wednesday

I received a letter from Linda Prindle that just made my day. It was so inspirational. She sent a passage that President George Q Cannon had written one time. It struck me to the core and it made me do a lot of thinking about my life. He wrote that the Lord was going to try his people to the utter most  and only those who truly want a Celestial inheritance the most will receive it. Anyone who lets anything interfere with gaining this inheritance isn’t worthy of it. I want to be worthy of it. Linda’s letter has renewed my commitment to the Lord. She is good for me like no one else could be.

Additional Material

George Quayle Cannon (January 11, 1827 – April 12, 1901) was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served in the First Presidency under four successive presidents of the church: Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow. He was the church's chief political strategist, and was dubbed "the Mormon premier" and "the Mormon Richelieu" by the press. He was also a five-time Territorial Delegate to the US Congress.

 

20 February 1975 Thursday

I received a statement in the mail that my student loan has been approved and all I have to do now is pick it up when I go back to BYU. Charline and the kids came down from Corona and spent the late afternoon and early evening with us. I fixed a chicken pot pie for all of us to eat for dinner.

            My little niece sure has taken to Ken Jones, climbing and playing all over him. James had another asthma attack  today. My heart goes out to that little fellow. Sometimes he’s so moody and silent that it’s hard to get close to what he’s feeling but I love him with all my heart. I fear Denise is still mad at me because I made her upset one time last month by making her eat a chocolate dipped ice cream cone from Foster Freeze instead of the vanilla one she wanted.  Sweet little baby Michael, however he grows up, he will always be my baby nephew.

            James and Denise are excited about going to Disneyland. Tomorrow  I am going to see if I can get cheaper discount tickets for Charline and Dennis for Mormon Night at Disneyland.

 

21 February 1975 Friday

Mom had the day off and she went and had her hair done at the salon. I drove over to the Institute of Religion at Cypress College to pick up discount tickets for Mormon Night at Disneyland for Charline and Dennis.

            At home I went through a bunch of my old letters and took the stamps off all of the envelopes because Dad has taken up stamp collecting as well as his rock polishing and coin collecting hobby.

            I finally received my W2 form from ZCMI but still haven’t gotten anything from Westward Café. I better soon so I can figure out my Income Taxes. I am counting the days until I go home to Utah. I plan on leaving on March 12^th in 20 more days.

 

22 February 1975 Saturday

This morning Dad and I worked in the backyard and pulled up from the roots three of the Oleander bushes. They were well established after 20 years and it was rough going.  In the mail I received an acceptance to work at Disneyland during Easter Vacation but I haven’t made up my mind yet whether I will or not depending on me returning to Utah.

 I also received my W2 form from Westward Café. All in all I only made $1,960 last year. That’s not very much the way inflation is so high.  I think I will get $197 back from the government if I figured right.

            Mom had a phone call from her cousin Oscar Peters who wanted to know if Grandma and Grandpa Johnson were going to the Johnson Reunion this coming August. I think they all plan on going. He also said that his son Elmer Peters, who is my second cousin, has been working on the family history on the Johnson side  and has it all  traced way back. I was pretty excited about that.

            In the late afternoon Mom and Dad went to the show but don’t know what they went to see. A little after they left, Charline, Dennis, and the kids came down but missed them. Dennis came down to get some wood from the backyard for their fireplace in Corona.  I gave them the discount tickets for Disneyland and then I left to go over to Ralph Ludders.

            There I spent the entire evening being with him. I helped him get a start on his genealogy although I don’t think he’s all that in to it.  Later we had a real personal talk about how we felt about how our lives have turned out. He gave me some real good advice about my impending marriage to Linda Prindle and I gave him some good counsel about returning to the church. He said he’s go to church with me next Sunday. Good!

Additional Material

"Pick Up the Pieces"  an instrumental tune by the Average White Band is the number 1 song for the week.

 

23 February 1975 Sunday

All week my throat has been swollen like I have too many anti-bodies in my glands. It makes it hard to swollen. I only went to Sacrament and I felt uncomfortable and achy during the entire meeting.

Because of the energy crisis, President Ford ordered daylight saving time to commence now instead of in April.  So I felt off all day.

            In a little while I’ll be going back up to Utah where I can have a life again. I didn’t know if it’s worth getting my membership records sent down here if I am going back up. I filled out my preregistration today to get back into BYU.

            Donna and Ken Jones are moving out of the house tomorrow back to Long Beach. I guess they made up with his folks and Ken has never liked living here even though Dad sure has been trying his best to make Ken feel liked  by Dad after he made Donna and Ken get married. It’s touching to see Dad so sentimental because it is so hard for Dad to express himself.

 

24 February 1975 Monday

My throat glands are still swollen today. I bet I have strep. I wanted to go to the doctors but Donna borrowed the Pinto because her car wouldn’t start. Probably needs a new battery.  In the evening Donna and Ken Jones came over to get the rest of their things because they moved back to Long Beach to live.

            Then Ralph Ludders dropped by at 10:30 tonight because he wanted to get out of his parents house. We went to Mr. Donut at the Orange County Plaza and sat in the car and talked for an hour or two about how weird it is  that we are both living back home with our parents like we were kids again. I said I’d try to get us tickets to Saturday’s Warrior for this coming March 8^th. 

Ralph, like me, senses a change in the air like we are supposed to be grown up now and we still aren’t.  He’s still reeling from Brenda divorcing him. I hope he will come to Utah this summer when he’s out for Summer Vacation to visit with me.  It’s because of Ralph and Brenda that I joined the church in 1972.

 

25 February 1975 Tuesday

It was a very depressing fruitless day. I went down to the unemployment office to open my claim against Alphy’s but I won’t hear anything about it whether it was approved or denied until tomorrow.  The woman processing my claim said it didn’t seem all that promising. Alphy’s is trying to contest it even though they won’t be the one paying my unemployment.

They are trying to say I quit without giving them enough notice to correct the situation. I countered what was there to correct? They weren’t paying me the $2.35 I was hired for and that’s that. They even had me down as a simple dishwasher making $1.91 an hour and I was never hired as a dishwasher. They can’t even get their facts straight. I am so tense that I might not get the unemployment money that I was hoping to live on to go back to Utah on. I need it for going to Utah.  I can’t go without it.

            At 2 this afternoon I went to Santa Ana to appear before the Labor Board for a hearing about my claim against Don Giovanni for my back pay. Bruce Butler the Bartender was there also but he was a joke.

            Neither John Lococo or Don Baldwin from Don Giovanni appeared at the hearing at all. Mr. Boring, the Labor Board Commissioner called Don Baldwin up and Don’s explanation for not showing up was that he had forgotten. Mr. Boring told him to send a check for the full amount that I am suing them for to the Labor Board by March 4^th.

            Bruce Butler then started throwing his weight around, acting all cocky so Mr. Boring told him to get out and take his claim somewhere else. Bruce refuse to leave and was acting belligerent so Mr. Boring called Security  and Bruce finally left.

            I didn’t know what to think of Bruce’s antics but then Mr. Boring was extra nice to me and of course I was extra polite also. Mr. Boring said to me that this was how he was proceeding with my case. He’ll wait until March 4^th to hear a response from Don Baldwin. If Don sends another bad check, Mr. Boring said he will take out a criminal charge and if he doesn’t send anything. he will subpoena Don for a hearing on April 7^th. So if I go up to Utah I’ll have to return on April 7^th. Ugh! Mr. Boring said that a subpoena takes about 30 days to serve.

            If it goes that far and Don still doesn’t show up, he will have to appear in Court or go to jail. Why don’t they just pay me my money and save themselves all this grief and trouble?

            I am really depressed. Satan seems to be working overtime on me and his buffering is terrible. I am at a very low point in my life. I am just a useless piece of flesh. Why God has preserved me this long I know not why. I am so rebellious and full of sin. But I just want my loved ones around me and in the gospel light.

Additional Material

I was out seeking anonymous sex from men in various adult sex video arcades.

 

26 February 1975 Wednesday

I had a long letter from Linda Prindle to cheer me up. She did say that she didn’t feel good about being married in August but I am starting to think we ought not to set a date until I can be made an Elder. It won’t do any good to set dates and then not be able to meet them. But once I become an Elder, we shouldn’t wait but a couple of weeks after that.

            The woman who is handling my unemployment claim wasn’t in today so I won’t know anything until tomorrow. Donna and Ken dropped by today to [pick up a few things they had left.

 

27 February 1975 Thursday

Jerry Smith came over this morning at 10 because he wanted to show me his new apartment  that he and his fiancée Linda are moving into.  However I first called the unemployment office to see if my claims interviewer was back in the office yet but she was still out. It really ticks me off

I followed Jerry over in my car to his apartment in Costa Mesa. It’s on 1000 West McArthur Boulevard, right off of Bristol across from the South Coast Plaza Shopping center, apartment 144. It’s a nice apartment but I think it’s way too expensive but I didn’t tell Jerry that. I didn’t want to spoil it for him . He’ll have to learn on his own sometime like I did. It’s a one bedroom, unfurnished with no utilities paid, for $191 a month. Yuck. But if he and Linda likes it, that’s all that matters.

It’s his first apartment as he always lived at his house on Poes Street but since his father and mother died, it’s being sold by his older sister Carma. I helped him move some heavy furniture into the place and he bought me lunch at South Coast.

            It was a very hazy yucky day, the kind I hate in Southern California. At home I cleaned up the house for Mom and Dad and watched the Waltons and some other shows on TV in the evening.

            I wrote  Linda Prindle another letter saying we ought to wait and not set a date to get married but rather meet certain objectives first then set a date. First of all I should be an Elder above all other priorities so we can be married in the temple. We can’t plan anything definitely until I become one. I feel like the Lord wants us to marry as soon as possible and keep our standards high. Sometime between now and August we will be married.

            What is frustrating to me is that I have money but it’s all tied up so I can’t get at it. I’ll get $197 back from my Income Tax Refund, about $500 is owed me from Don Giovanni, and I’ll have $1500 when I can get my loan by getting back into BYU. But I need my unemployment money as ready cash if I hope to be back up to Utah by March 12^th.

            In the news just down the street on the corner of Katella and Dale a gas tank exploded at the gas station there and burned to death three guys at the service station there.  I think one of them was a Rancho Alamitos high school student working there.

 

28 February 1975 Friday

The last day of February and how depressing it began and now ended. I received a phone call at 9 this morning from the unemployment office saying my claim had been denied. That woman had made up her mind against me from the start. She said she didn’t think I did all in my power to keep the job. I was absolutely stunned by her decision. How bitter it was and I just wanted to cry so badly but couldn’t.  I felt so beaten down. Satan had me down and I felt beaten. Another cataclysmic blow to my dreams of going back to Utah anytime soon.

            Everything I touch anymore seems to shatter. Are my dreams so brittle? I know the Lord will never give me more than I can bear but since last July it all seems to be piled on. The rejections of Jodie Clark and John Wagner, flunked by Rodney Turner so I did not graduate by a ½ unit, washing dishes and having to leave Utah, not being paid by Don Giovanni so I could go back in January, cheated by Alphy’s and now denied $33 a week so I could have gone back to Utah to the people I love. It’s been a heavy load but not as heavy as my heart feels right now because it’s not right with the Lord.

            “More holiness give me, more strength to overcome, more freedom from Earth stains, more longing for home.”

            After overcoming the initial shock and disappointment, I decided to go to the Labor Board again and file a complaint against Alphy’s Coffee Shop for taking money out of my pay for meals I never received. I am going to appeal that old biddy’s decision but that will take more time.

            When I came home I made an appointment with Disneyland’s hiring department for an interview at 9:20 this coming Tuesday. I have to work now that I have no unemployment benefits and nothing saved

            So after feeling sorry for myself, I started picking up the pieces again. What doesn’t break you will make you stronger. My name should be Phoenix rather than Ben Israel I think. Somehow I come back up after being burned to the ground.

            In the backyard I did some more digging trying to pull up another Oleander shrub that we didn’t get to last time. The plum tree is starting to bloom and blossom already and Dad’s other little treelings are sending out new shoots. It looks like all of Dad’s plants have survived. Good.

            I cleaned up the house and waited for Mom to get home from work. I told her about the Biddy’s decision and how badly I felt. Mom said not to worry that if I really wanted to go back to Utah, she would advance me $100 until I get some of the back money owed me. Isn’t that the greatest? But if I do get hired at Disneyland, I’ll stay for a while and not go back until April.

            In the late afternoon Mom and Dad went shopping and Mom went and had her hair done. I called Ralph Ludders and asked if wanted to go with me tomorrow into Los Angeles to the Genealogical Library at the Temple there.

            In the evening, a dark spirit wrestled with me and I lost again. Damn! I really despise myself for the weak coward I am. Thus I play easily into the Adversary’s hands by having a low opinion of myself.  It truly is a vicious circle.

 When I came home I found out that Donna and Ken Jones have moved back in. Ken’s parents threw them out again. Donna would be foolish to ever to accept a thing from them again. It’s up to Ken to truly make a clean break with them. Maybe this will shock Donna and Ken into seeing a psychiatrist why they subject themselves to those people who are obviously nuts.

I would like to see a psychiatrist sometimes, if I wasn’t afraid it would be made public I really need to talk to and need the advice of a wise and understanding Bishop like Bishop Ahlander who won’t condemn me for my weakness. But there’s no one to talk to here and I feel so alone. Wickedness was never happiness.

 

MARCH 1975

1 March 1975 Saturday

Ralph Ludders and I drove up to the Los Angeles Temple this afternoon to do some genealogy research there but to our dismay it closed at 3 and it was 2:45 when we arrived. So we just had enough time to look around the grounds and go through the Visitors Center as not to make the trip completely wasted.

            We watched the film Man’s Search for Happiness.” Te more I see that show the more I get out of it. Ralph and I were able to visit a lot about life and that was nice, He just bought a new Chevy Van yesterday and he’ll get in about 4 weeks. He wants to do some traveling this summer. I think his parents might come up to see me when I return to Utah.

            Ralph was coming down with a cold so when we came back to Los Alamitos he fell asleep from the cold medicine so I just left and went back to Garden Grove.

            On TV tonight was a movie called the Black Dahlia about a famous unsolved murder back in the 1940’s here in Southern California. It was pretty good.

            Charline brought the grandkids were down today to visit Mom and Dad. I had my disqualification notice from the unemployment office in the mail today.

Additional Material

"Best of My Love" by the Eagles is the number 1 song for the week

 

2 March 1975 Sunday

Today was Fast and Testimony Sunday and I was in meetings from noon until 3:00 in the afternoon. I sat with Arthur Johansson for most of the time as he’s the only one there I really know. There’s a possibility he might go to Utah with me when I return to visit some of his friends at BYU.

            I’m going to go to the Los Angeles Public Library downtown because I heard in Sunday School they have a lot of good stuff in a genealogical section there. So I’m going to check it out.

            With a new month, there should come a new commitment to serve the Lord better with my heart, heart and soul and resist sinning. I enjoyed today’s service but Ralph Ludders said he was sick so he didn’t come with me. I miss attending church with someone.

            “To know what is right and not do it is the worse cowardice”-Confucius

 

3 March 1975 Monday

I went with Sister Sue Gunnison from church to the Los Angeles Library. Sue is a nice person and all that but I wouldn’t go with her again just because of the time element. We didn’t even get up there until almost 11 this morning and she wanted to leave at 1 in the afternoon so as to be home when her little boy got out of school. That’s understandable but 2 hours isn’t very much time to do research when it takes an hour both ways to even get downtown from Garden Grove because of all the traffic. Plus it’s expensive to park at $2.50 let alone the cost of gasoline to get there.

            Anyway I didn’t find much at all except that my ancestor Britton Williams came from North Carolina to South Carolina before the Revolutionary War and a Wilson Williams was a prominent Loyalist  in the area where my family lived. I just wish I had more time there at the library. I don’t know when I’ll be able to have enough money to go again.

            After coming home, there was nothing in the mail from anyone. I’ll probably get a letter from someone in Utah tomorrow. I wrote Linda Prindle tonight.

            Tomorrow I go down to Disneyland for an interview for temporary work over Easter Break. I don’t even know when Easter is this year. In a way I hope I get the job there because I need the money but it also means that it will be that much longer until I can get back to Utah.  I have to be back by April 7^th anyway for my Labor Board Claim.

 

4 March 1975 Tuesday

I was up at 8 this morning to get ready to go down to the Hiring Office at Disneyland. After a brief interview I was hired to work at Carnation Plaza Gardens, basically a lunch and ice cream pavilion with Jazz musicians.  I am supposed to come in this Saturday to go on a tour of the “park” which is what we are always to call Disneyland.

            I didn’t get home until about 11 this morning and there still wasn’t anything in the mail.

            Donna’s car was conking out again. She called from the Funky Taco so I had to drive into Santa Ana to start her car. Donna and Ken took me back home and then borrowed my car for the rest of the day looking at apartments.

            Mom said that my uncle JW Johnson called to say Grandma Johnson was in the hospital tonight for surgery on her bladder. Mom is pretty scared for her as Grandma is 75 years old. 

Additional Material

Carnation Plaza Gardens opened in 1956—just 13 months after Disneyland opened. Nestled between Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and the stockade leading into Frontierland, Carnation Plaza  was an old-fashioned, open-air dance pavilion with a red-and-white canopy roof. Around 1999, the food service windows at Carnation Plaza Gardens closed and the final operating day of Carnation Plaza Gardens was April 30, 2012. The food service part served hamburgers and hot dogs from one of the food windows.  You could buy Carnation Ice Cream cones and sundaes there also. Carnation made a special flavor called “Fantasia”, with layers of dark cherry, pistachio and banana ice cream.

 

5 March 1975 Wednesday

Today it was mostly cloudy and rainy. Donna, Ken Jones, and I went into Los Angeles to spend the day. They dropped me off at the L.A. Public Library while they drove around Hollywood to look for old used bookstores.

            I stayed in the genealogical section of the library from noon until 6 this evening and found a book written by Lucius Paige on the History of Hardwick, Massachusetts. The book had quite a lot on the trial of my ancestor Jonathan Danforth for being a loyalist during the Revolutionary War. I still can’t find out much about his son Samuel Danforth who moved to Vermont and then New York or grandson Thomas Bassell Danforth who moved to Augusta Georgia and later Mississippi.

            There still wasn’t any mail for me today. I am really disappointed.

 

6 March 1975 Thursday

It had rained really hard during the night with quite a bit of lightning and thunder which is unusual for us.  I went down to the unemployment office today to appeal that woman’s disqualifying my claim against Alphy’s Coffee Shop.  I have a hearing this coming Monday.

            Bro. Lewis, the Ward Clerk called me early this morning wanting me to come in this Sunday to see the Bishop at 3:30. He wants to interview for an advancement in the priesthood. I hope I am home from Disneyland by then.

            Again no mail today and I am starting to think I’m forgotten. Oh well,

           

7 March 1975 Friday

Dad wasn’t feeling well today and came home from work early. He said he had a bad headache. My brother in law Ken Jones is still having a hard time finding a job because he has no experience working and doesn’t drive..

            Charline and the kids came over about 4:30 this afternoon and stayed until 8 when I then took them down to Disneyland. Denise and James were so hyped up to go and Mom babysat the baby. It was Mormon Night at Disneyland and the park is opened all night even though it started to rain. Dennis didn’t get off work and home until 10:30 and at Disneyland at 11. I hope it all worked out for them and they had fun. It sure seemed like nothing went right for them.

 

8 March 1975 Saturday

I was up at 6 this morning to be at work by 7:30. I went to the personal office where I was hired and then I was taken upstairs to what is known as the “Disney University.” There we were given out name tags and then directed to a room where we were more or less told what we could expect during orientation.

            We were taken by a tram to the back lot of Disneyland where we were divided up according to the “lands” we would be working in. I was considered Main Street although I will be working at Carnation Gardens which is in the center of where all the paths diverge into Frontierland and Fantasyland.

            Then this girl information guide took us on a tour of the park and told us a bunch of trivia concerning certain rides and attractions. She also said that gum is not sold in the park because people will put chewed gum everywhere. I thought it was interesting  that everything was designed slightly smaller than normal to give a forced perspective of distance. We were shown where Walt Disney lived when he was staying in the park.

            We went through Jungleland, Frontierland, New Orleans Squares and Bear Country and then I went to Carnation Plaza Garden where I will be working. There I met the supervisor amid was given my hours and met some of the kids I will be working with. It did seem really friendly. I’ll start work next weekend.

            I was shown the secret doors that led to passages beneath the streets so we could avoid the crowds when our shifts end. Someone from the pavilion took me down the corridor to the changing room where I was assigned a costume and a locker. My uniform consists of a red and white striped shirt and white pants.

            After we all met back up again we were shown how to clock in and out. We were finished with the orientation by 1:30 and this one kid asked if I was a Mormon. I said yes and we talked in the parking lot for about an hour about the church. He was a non member.

            It had rained for most of the day and when I came home, Mom and Dad had gone out somewhere. Later in the evening Ralph Ludders called and wanted to go to the show with me. I was tired and even though I knew I had to get up early tomorrow for church, I said yes.

            We went to see The Towering Inferno which was very suspenseful but it really didn’t scare me as much as Earthquake did. I did get home until 1:30 in the morning but it was fun being with Ralph again. It’s funny watching him try to flirt with girls, something I never learned to do. Still no letter from Linda Prindle.

Additional Material

"Have You Never Been Mellow" by Olivia Newton-John is the number 1 song for the week

 

9 March 1975 Sunday

I had to be back at Disneyland by 9 this morning to continue the Orientation.  We were shown a movie on the “Disney attitude” and we were told about the park’s procedures so we could help answer the park’s guests' questions. I thought it was funny that the most frequently asked question was "where are the bathrooms".

            We then were given another tour of the park and went to all the warehouses and work area in the back lot where things were built or repaired. The animated autotronics area was really interesting where some of the birds in from the Tiki House were being repaired.

            We were even given a free box lunch which was very good.  I’ve really gotten excited about the prospects of working at Disneyland now even as a seasonal  temp hire. I am kind of sad now that I won’t be there to work for the summer as I will be back in school in Utah.

            I was home from the orientation tour in time for my appointment with Bishop McKay. He interviewed me so I could advance to a Teacher in the Priesthood. In Sacrament it was announced that I was being advanced. Arthur Johansson wasn’t in church today. I heard he was sick. I’d like for him to ordain me in the priesthood if he would.

            After church, when I came home, Ralph Ludders called and wanted me to come over to Los Alamitos so I did. I hung out with him until 11 today watching the Wonderful World of Disney and the ABC movie.

 

10 March 1975 Monday

Still no letter from Linda Prindle today but did have one from Elbert Peck who serving a mission in Northern California. I wrote him back right away. My stubbornness at being in a tiff with him has to end. I cannot throw away a beautiful diamond like Elbert. He can’t help being Elbert. I also wrote Bill Hall who should almost be at the end of his mission now and I wrote Piper Ballou Holmes. All lovely people and dear to my heart. I wrote Linda yesterday and mailed the letter out today along with the rest.

            I had to do to the unemployment today to file a complaint about my being denied; but all the man did was tell me that a hearing n my case would come in about a month. Well a fat lot of good that will do me as I will be gone by then.

            I’m still kind of sad I didn’t make it to Jerry Smith’s wedding to Linda. I hope he’ll understand I had to be at Disneyland. It rained all day very hard.

Additional Material

Bill Hall was the first boy I fell in love with while attending at BYU although the relationship was strictly platonic.

 

11 March 1975 Tuesday

The Missionary Elders dropped by the house tonight to see Mom and Dad but they had retired by then. I invited them in anyway and we had a nice long chat. It was like a sip of sweet water to a parched throat to visit with these valiant young men. I thank the Lord for sending me these timely young Missionaries. I am so starved for the gospel that I couldn’t get enough of our conversation. We talked of BYU and many other such things. The Senior Companion  even knew Elder Pettit and Elder Fairbanks who converted me to the Gospel over three years ago.

            Every Elder that I’ve talked with who knew my Missionaries give me the same impression that they were a pair of real corkers. But God love them because I do. It’s by their innocence and grace of God that I even joined the church at a time I was so lost in sin. I am starting to truly realize my first year within the Church was very unusual.

            I heard from the Elders that only this Garden Grove Stake seems to have the policy of ordaining adult converts as Deacons and not Priests. Since the Ward here is so family oriented, it’s a miracle that I even stayed in the church long enough to learn what it is truly about as that they complete ignored me.

            So far there’s been only two truly significant events in my life that have altered my course. They are when an angel appeared to me on the night of July9th and by my decision to go to BYU in Utah in January 1973. God had plainly showed me how Wickedness was Never Happiness.

            The Church is true down to the very punctuation of the printed Gospels. I know it’s true. I must somehow learn to live it fully and completely. I must show the Lord that I love his Gospel more than anything else in the world.

Additional Material

“Wickedness was never happiness” referred to my homosexuality and “anything else in the world” meant my continual love for John Cunningham.

           

12 March 1975 Wednesday

I finally received a letter from Linda Prindle today. She never mentioned why she hadn’t written. I guess nothing was wrong. I went over to Fullerton to take Kathy Welte out driving to practice for her driver’s test to get her license. She did pretty good for being scared. We went all the way to Chino through Carbon Canyon.

Additional Material

Kathy Welte was born on October 11, 1957, in Orange County, California to Frank Charles Welte and Barbara Frear.

 

13 March 1975 Thursday

Nothing in the mail today. Disneyland sent me a check for last week’s orientation. I cleared $8.71

 

14 March 1975 Friday

I went back over to Frank and Barb Welte in Fullerton to help Kathy get her driver’s license. We drove around a little so she could practice but taking the test she failed it. I think she was just scared.

 

15 March 1975 Saturday

Today was my first actual full day of work at Disneyland. I was up at 6 this morning, very tired because I didn’t sleep well last night. I left the house at 7 because I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get there check in and change into my custom.  Security is pretty tight at Disneyland and I had to show my I.D. to the guard at the Harbor House before I could even get my time card.

            After clocking in, I parked and walked to the Men’s locker room and changed into my uniform. It felt really strange changing with guys half dressed as Disney characters and guys dressed as Pirates or frontier people but it was rather exciting. Almost all the guys in character suits I think were drama kids.  I now know why I was hired because everyone guy here has short haircuts and no facial hair. It almost seemed like I was at BYU.

            I was early this morning by about 15 minutes before Naomi, the lead supervisor, came in at 8 to let us in the pavilion. Right after her came her assistant Jerry. The stand doesn’t open for business until 11 so it was pretty slow at first, just stocking items and preparing for the lunch rush.

            I was told to take my half an hour lunch break at 11 because it would be busy in the afternoon. When I came back, they had me make about 40 pounds of coleslaw. Then for the rest of the day I was on the counter elbow deep serving ice cream cones. That really made the time pass. One of our flavors is called “fantasia” but the menu board doesn’t explain what was it was so I spent a lot of my time repeating all day that it was a combination of banana nut, cherry, and pistachio like a Neapolitan. The orientation folks were right half of the people I waited on were asking where the restrooms are.

            Disneyland really is a fun place to work but there’s really no money for seasonal workers because  we only get to work over Easter Break, Summer Vacation, and Christmas Break.        I worked until 4:30 an 8 hour shift.

Additional Material

There was a lot of sexual energy in the Men’s Locker Room especially among the guys who wore costumes. They stripped completely naked before changing clothes before getting into their costumes. I thought the vibe was very erotic much like at BYU.

• "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers is the number 1 song for the week

 

16 March 1975 Sunday

I had to go to work today at 11 this morning but only had to work until 5:30. It rained for much of the morning so it was really slow at the park however the crowds picked up around 2 when it began to clear up. We were pretty busy after that, nonstop.

            The Easter schedule is up now and I don’t work again until next Sunday. Then I will work from 6 in the evening until 10 at night. I will be getting only 25 hours during Easter Break but it’s better than nothing I guess.

            Yesterday I received a letter from Mike Allred. In it he sent an article about the church building a temple in Brazil down in South America. It’s prophesized that there will be temples all around the world one day.

            I called Linda Prindle tonight because I was lonesome and hadn’t talked to her in so long. She sounded good although she said her medication was making her sick. Linda’s younger brother is being sent on a mission to Anaheim. I’ve never met him.

Satan is trying so hard to destroy both Linda and I. He knows he can never get me to renounce my faith but he can try to pollute me to a state where I a useless.  What is it that makes him hate us so badly and what makes us so weak to serve God so sadly? I am simply overwhelmed by the adversary because of the weakness of my flesh.

            Mom and Dad will be going back to Texas next week to be with Grandma Johnson while she is home recuperating from her operation. Ken Jones has an appointment for an interview at Disneyland also which he is thrilled about. In some ways he’s such a child, But Donna loves him and in my own funny way, I am growing to love him also. Charline and Dennis Wachs are considering filing for bankruptcy as the economy is completely nuts. I say do it and get a fresh start.

17 March 1975 Monday St. Patrick Day

I was up early this morning to clean the house. There was no mail from Utah today. Grandma Johnson called Mom today and said she would be coming home soon from the hospital. She said that my cousin Kay and her husband Guy Ballard are getting a divorce. Kay has moved back home in with my uncle and aunt J.W. and Pauline Johnson.  I don’t know what caused them to split up.

            I called Ralph Ludders up later in the day. He said he had a really bad cold like the one I had. I guess I won’t be staying up in Norco with him after all.

 

18 March 1975 Tuesday

I spent most of the day at the Garden Grove Library on Chapman. I didn’t find anything new in their small genealogy section. Just to have something to write in this journal I am going to list all my first and 2^nd cousins that I know.

John Edward Johnson is the oldest of all my first cousins and he’s on the Johnson side. He’s about 6 years older than I am. He was married to Ginger Carlyle  and has two sons Christopher Johnson and Craig Johnson. John and Ginger were divorced and the both have remarried. Ginger kept custody of the boys.

Laura Lay Johnson is about 3 years younger than me and she married Guy Ballard and had a little boy named Neil Roderick Ballard.  John and Kay are my only first cousins on my Mom’s side of the family.

On Dad’s side are Wallace and Mattie Lee Williams’ kids Francis Ann, Marilyn Kay, Gary Wallace, and Terrie Lynn.

Francis Ann Williams is the oldest grandchild of my Grandparent Williams and she married Eddies Griess. He had a boy named Ricky who she raised as his stepmother and has two children of her own Alyssa Griess and Steven Griess.

Marilyn is about my sister Charline’s age and she married Danny Stevens and has two children Dena Stevens and Danny Stevens Jr.

Gary is a year younger than I am and I don’t know the name of his wife but he had a son named Gary Wallace Williams Jr.

Terrie Williams married Steven Lamb but hasn’t any children.

            My cousin Larry Paul Fagen is trhe son of my Aunt Bonnie and was raised by Bill Fagen as his step son. Larry married Pamela and had a son named Aaron Paul Fagen.

            My uncle Milton Williams’ two kids by my Aunt Marie are Stephanie Irene Williams and Gregory Lynn Williams. Gregory is the youngest of all my first cousins and 11 years younger than me.

            Pamela Jo Damron is my 2^nd cousin the daughter of my Dad’s first cousin Margery Fern Danforth and her husband Bill Damron. She is the same age as me. Pamela has been married twice and had no children by her first husband who committed suicide after the divorce. By her second husband she had twin girls called Koletta and Krista Petri.

            My dad’s first cousin Norman Danforth married Betty Morrisette and they had three children, Beverley, Barbara, and Alan who is the same age as me. Barbara is the only one unmarried.  Bev and Alan are having pretty good marriages I hear. Bev has two kids Regina Lynn Watrous and Paul Millard Watrous. Alan has a daughter Stacie Marlene Danforth.

 

19 March 1975 Wednesday

I received quite a bit of mail today. I had two letters from Linda Prindle and one from Mike Allred. I also had a letter from the Labor Board saying that Don Baldwin had been subpoena and that my hearing has been moved up to April 4^th at 10 in the morning. That’s great because now I’ll go up to Utah that Friday instead of waiting until after the 7^th. It will be a surprise for Linda.

            This is what Mike’s Letter said: “14 March 1975 Dear Ben, While in church Sunday in Osmond, a thought was brought up which I wanted to share with you. In reference to your last letter which sounded like you were a little discouraged about being shot at left and right by everybody out there. Here is a rather long quote from a pamphlet “Three Degrees of Glory” by Elder Melvin J Ballard- “why is it that sometimes only one of a city or a household receives the Gospel? It was made known to me that it is because the righteous dead who had received the Gospel in the spirit  world exercising themselves, and in answer to their prayers elders of the church were sent to the homes of their posterity that the Gospel might be taught to them and through their righteousness they might be privileged to have a descendant in the flesh to do the work of their dead kindred---I want to say to you that it is with greater intensity that the hearts f the fathers and mothers in the spirit world are turned to their children than that our hearts are turned to them.” When I heard that statement I thought right off of Ben and remembered your great enthusiasm  for genealogy and also your discouragement at being the only member out of your whole family. Anyways I thought maybe that idea of Bro. Ballard would interest you and maybe give you some encouragement.”

            Mike’s letter did just that. He also went on to say he quit his job at the Cougareat.  Linda wrote that she was applying at the Jordan School District but she was worried about what decision to make. I guess the medicine they have her on is making her quite dizzy almost like she’s drunk. She wrote the following to me:

            Ben, I want to share with you something that is so special. I know the Lord will reveal to you and me knowledge as he see we are in need of it. I can’t help but feel that you and I together have a great mission for the Lord… But what happened to me Wednesday Night I’ll never forget as  long as I shall live. If I do forget please remind me. I first felt the sweet presence of the Spirit and then the prompting came “You need Ben.” It seemed to vibrate to the most inner most part of me, the understanding and comprehension had of this I have very rarely comprehended any other knowledge. Ben it was as if my spirit needed the support that only your spirit can give me. I may in years later come to a greater knowledge and understanding of the truth that has been reveled . But Ben I have no doubt in my mind that this is as true as anything I have felt in my life, This experience bears witness to me bow more than ever that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, That it is based on true principles and happiness comes by living these principles.”

            Someday when I get my life in order I must tell Linda fully about the responsibility that will be hers if she marries me. But how shamefully unworthy am I of the magnitude of what the God of Israel has to bless me with if but I should love him and follow his commandments. If only Linda knew all that the angel had told me that midsummer night which also happened to have been her birthday. She would e amazed.

 

20 March 1975 Thursday

Today is the first day of spring and also Mom and Dad’s 29^th anniversary. Donna and Ken Jones bought Mom some flowers while I fixed a nice  dinner, baked a cake and bought some ice cream to go along with it. Charline came down from Corona with James, Denise, and Michael. She had the kids make some hand casts in plaster of Paris for Mom and Dad.

            James is going to have some asthma tests soon to see what is causing it. For 6 months he will have to have allergy shots.

            There was no mail from Utah but I received a check in the mail from Disneyland for $19.54 for working last weekend. I wrote Linda Prindle a letter.

            It was a pretty day . I hope Spring is really on its way. Mom and Dad are getting ready for their trip back to Texas to take care of Grandma Johnson.

 

21 March 1975 Friday

I went over to Jerry Smith’s apartment in Costa Mesa today because he wants to show me his wedding pictures and how Linda and he had fixed the place up. They have fixed it up really nice. Things seem to be really working out well for him though nothing can take the place of losing one’s parents at such a young age. Jerry asked me to come over for dinner tomorrow so I can get to know Linda better.

            When I came back to the house, Mom was gone, out having her hair done. Mom and Dad are leaving at 7:45 in the morning from the Disneyland Hotel to take the shuttle to the airport rather than leaving their car at the airport. They are flying into Lubbock and won’t be back here to Garden Grove until next Saturday. Mom said she might stay longer depending how Grandma is feeling.

            I called Arthur Johansson up and asked if he would set me apart as a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood  this coming Sunday and he said he would. That is great. I also called Ralph Luddders up to see if he wanted to go to Church with me on Sunday. I said he could stay with me all next week while Mom and Dad are gone back to Texas. He said sure. He wants me to go swimming tomorrow but I will see.

            I have been trying to fast all week in preparation for my Priesthood ordination but I can’t seem to finish one any longer than 12 hours.

           

22 March 1975 Saturday

Mom and Dad left this morning to fly back to Texas. Donna drove them to the L.A. Airport rather than catching the Disneyland Hotel shuttle. It rained for most of the morning. I called Ralph Ludders up and he said he would go with me to church tomorrow but I rather doubt if he will. I know Ralph too well.

            In the afternoon I called Jerry Smith to see if he still wanted me to come over for dinner. He did. I then made a Boston Cream Pie for dessert to take over to Jerry and Linda’s place. The only time I had met Linda before was at Jerry’s mother’s funeral so it was nice to meet under much more pleasant circumstances.  We had tostados for dinner and then we decided to go out to the movies and we saw “The Four Musketeers” a sequel to “the Three Musketeers.”  It was excellent but I don’t think quite as good as the first one.

            I didn’t get back home until 8 this evening so I watched a little TV then went to bed to get up early to go to Priesthood. I did call Mike Allred real late in the evening and I woke him out of bed. It was good to hear news from Utah. I told him that I’d be coming back up to Utah probably on April 4^th and what my plans were once there. It sounded like Mike was kind of looking forward for me to come back up to stay with him. He did say the church has opened up Missions in Yugoslavia and Iran so the end cannot be that far away. I miss my Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

Additional Material

"My Eyes Adored You" by Frankie Valli is the number 1 song for the week

• Little did I know that Brigham Young University began a serious effort to expel all homosexual students on campus during the Winter term 1975 just as I was planning on returning to the Y. Known as the “purge” of ‘75, BYU security officers interrogated students majoring in fine arts or drama. Security operatives also took down license plate numbers of cars parked outside Salt Lake City Gay bars and cross-checked them with cars registered with BYU by current students.  BYU’s president, Dallin Oaks acknowledged these activities in general term in the following Salt Lake Tribune article
• Ex BYU Security Officer Gary Moss-Provo-A former undercover agent for the BYU security force says an atmosphere of intrigue, spying, censorship, and harassment pervades a large part of campus life at the Mormon Church owned school. Joseph “Skip” Morrow who says he quit the security force in disgust in late 1973 said he personally was asked to take spying assignments which he considered beyond the responsibility of a law enforcement agency. Morrow who says he remains a loyal member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints graduated from the 25,000 student Mormon institution last year and now works in a quick-stop grocery store in Springville, Utah. BYU security chief Robert Kelshaw denies the charges. “We haven’t done anything any other police department hasn’t done,” Kelshaw said adding that his operation is open to public scrutiny. “We have nothing to hide,” he said. Morrow says  he isn’t ready to charge that any thing illegal was done, but he says he thinks many activities  come close to being illegal. “The BYU security force pays no attention to the human rights of anyone on this campus-faculty or students. It’s Big Brother all the way. They harass innocent people. Everybody can be under investigation. It’s the atmosphere. They keep files on everybody for any reason. Only God knows what they keep on file on people in this school,” Morrow said. He said BYU under cover agents have used electronic devices to spy on students both on and off campus, in dormitories, private apartments, married student housing, and in the streets..” Morrow said, “Witch Hunts” are conducted especially for drug abusers and homosexuals. Kelshaw denies that dormitories or other housing facilities have been bugged per se but he did admit that electronic devices have been planted on students to gather information on roommates or acquaintances. He also admitted that there has been some off campus surveillance as far away as Salt Lake City. Kelshaw also acknowledge as Morrow alleged that searches of dorms and other student housing have taken place without bona fide search warrants.  But Kelshaw said no search has been conducted without verbal permission or a signed statement of acquiesce from students involved. Morrow said the statement signed by all students at time of admission to follow the rules and policies of the university is often regarded by security personnel as  “permission enough”. Morrow said he was asked several times to carry hidden electronic devices. One such assignment was to look for drugs at an all male party of students whose wives were at a church Relief Society meeting. He never completed the assignment. BYU President Dallin H. Oaks late Friday responding to the former under cover agent’s charges that said “an atmosphere of intrigue, spying, censorship and harassment exists on the BYU campus, replied “Nonsense”.  “We make every possible effort to conduct all university operations well within the requirements of the law. That includes the activities of our  security offices.” Said President Oaks who is a lawyer.  The university leader also said he had nothing to add to BYU security Chief Robert Kelshaw’s admission in the article that electronic recording devices have been planted on students in order to gather information on roommates and acquaintances and searches where conducted of dorms and other student housing units without bona fide search warrants.  When asked if BYU security agents check known homosexual haunts looking for BYU students, BYU President Oaks replied that he personally didn’t know of any incidences but he wouldn’t be surprised if security officers had made such investigations over a period of time. Then when President Oaks was asked if there was a  more wide spread campaign to find drug abusers and homosexuals among BYU students he replied, “Our security force is charged with helping protect our university from influences that we are trying to exclude from our university community. Two influences we wish to exclude from the BYU community are active homosexuals and drug users and these subjects are therefore among those with which our security forces is concerned. But fortunately such occurrences are relatively rare…” he said. We don’t have a campus wide surveillance organization looking over the shoulders of BYU students. We don’t have need of that and would consider that kind of atmosphere at odds with the spirit of our campus, and the learning enterprise, in any case. Dr. Oaks said. … President Oaks also said he couldn’t answer if a student found to be homosexual or a drug user would be expelled.  The university follows disciplinary policies and treats each case individually, he said. When Asked if the university keeps moral files on students he replied that the BYU has many types of files such as health and academics files which would contain personal information that very sensitive information that very sensitive information is kept confidential and that the university has a policy for regularly destroying information for the protection of those involved. (03/22/1975 SLTribune A-10)

 

23 March 1975 Sunday

I woke up at 6 this morning to get up and ready for Priesthood which starts at 7:45. I was supposed to have been ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood today but Bishop McKay went on vacation and nobody knew anything about it! So I was not set apart. It is frustrating and disappointment how little this Ward cares about me after all that Mike Allred and Linda Prindle did to try and get my membership records sent down from BYU.

            I was so tired and upset that I just came back home and went back to sleep for an hour. I must have been depressed as I slept through Sunday School.

            In the afternoon I called Linda Prindle up to tell her when I was coming back up to Provo. That made her happy. She said it was snowing in Provo. How I long to be there.

            I went intowork at Disneyland from 6 to 10 and I won’t work again until next Tuesday when I have to go in at 3:30 in the afternoon. This was the first time I worked at night and it was a different experience with all the “Pixie” Lights lit up around the park. It was kind of neat.

Additional Material

The failure of the Garden Grove Ward ordaining me a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood was indicative of how little they thought of me as a member of their Ward and was just one of a series of let downs and disappointments I suffered by the leadership of that Ward. It’s also indicative of my true feelings that I called Mike Allred before I called Linda Prindle about when I was returning to BYU.

 

24 March 1975 Monday

Today is Bill Hall’s birthday. I hope he is well and prosperous in the Spirit. It seems so long ago that we were having so much fun in the Chipman dorms at BYU. I didn’t have to work today so I cleaned my room, did a load of wash, and just general house maintenance. I even cooked dinner for Ken Jones who I think would starve if someone didn’t cook for him.

            It kind of bothers me that Ken doesn’t lift a finger to help around the house. Oh he will vacuum once in a while if I ask him, but he eats here and sleeps here but won’t try to keep the house clean or even take the trash out.

            It was a warm day for a change. I tried to mow the lawn but couldn’t get the stupid mower to start. Probably needs a turn up. I wish I had a hand push mower.

 

25 March 1975 Tuesday

I received a letter today from Piper and Richard Holmes saying they have moved again to American Fork where Richard found work. I went into work myself at 3:30 this afternoon and worked until 10:30. I was only supposed to have worked until 10 but it got really busy at the ice cream counter, I suppose from the warm night. I took a half an hour break so I only was paid for 6 and a half hours. The lines for ice cream were steady all night long. I heard the new Mission to Mars attraction that opens in Tomorrowland is super popular

            When I came home I was upset with Donna and Ken Jones as that Donna had made dinner and had not saved me any to eat’ not even a crumb. Their selfishness hurt me more than anything when I made dinner for Ken yesterday.

            I spent the remainder of the night reading and studying the book of Mormon, especially the book that the Prophet Heleman wrote. I am trying to outline the holy Book of Mormon so I can understand and appreciate it better. Heleman wrote in Chapter 5 Verse 47 “Peace, peace be unto you forever because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.”

Additional Material

Disneyland decided to ring in 1975 with a two-year celebration of America’s Bicentennial and a new parade called “America on Parade.” The Main Street Electrical Parade took a sabbatical while the patriotic procession took over, with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy leading the way. One of the features was newly designed characters representing different American eras, including Betsy Ross. Since Americans had walked on the moon, Disney Imagineers decided it was time to send guests on a journey farther into space. In 1975, the attraction known as Flight to the Moon was closed and re-designed as Mission to Mars. Most of the building’s changes were cosmetic, with images on the monitors in Mission Control and inside the “rocket” were changed to represent the trip to Mars.

 

26 March 1975 Wednesday

In the news King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated. All his oil and wealth and power could not save his life or will save his soul. Gold and power has no power over the grave.

            It was very windy and cold today. I went into work at Disneyland at 4:30 and worked until 10 when the park closed. I was paid for 5 hours. Before going into work today I dug up the ground in the back yard to plant two rows of squash in the Garden.

            When I came home I studied some more and finished the Books of Heleman and Enos, Omni, Jaron, and the Words of Mormon.  Heleman 4:17 “But Behold the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.” There is such strength and beauty in the words of the Book of Mormon. There is so much insight and sensitivity for the eternal man instead of the carnal man. The Scriptures are essentially timeless and especially the Book of Mormon. The Ancient American Prophets wrote about what was real and of importance to mankind of all ages. Only the New Testament thrills me more than the Book of Mormon and then only the Gospels of the Apostles of the New Testament.

            I am still upset how Ken Jones and Donna don’t even try to take care of Mom and Dad’s property while they are gone. I can understand Donna’s lack of action because she’s at work all day but Ken is just plain lazy. He makes Donna cook, do the dishes, and support him while he reads his comic books all day.  Maybe I am being too harsh and quick to judge Ken but he could try to help if nothing else since he doesn’t have a job. I wouldn’t dream of staying with someone without trying to be of use. I guess what really ticked me off was finding a big water spill on the front room carpet and they hadn’t even put down a towel to soak it up. I had to. If Mom came home and found that stain she would have been furious. They don’t seem to respect Mom and Dad’s property rights.

 

27 March 1975 Thursday

Today I had to go into work at 11 this morning and worked until 5 in the afternoon without a break. We were so busy. Except for the fact that I am working in the Enchanted Kingdom, it’s a really tiresome job, but still it’s kind of fun. I had to go over to help out at the Casa de Fritos restaurant. Casa de Fritos is in Frontierland but there’s an alley between Carnation Gardens and the back entrance to the café so I just had to go through the backdoors.

            When I came home there was a check in the mail for the work I did last Sunday for $9.75. I really can’t spend it because I owe so much on long distance phone bills.

            In the news I heard there was a 6.5 earthquake in Cache Valley, Utah. I called up there to see if anyone was hurt and to find out what happened. Also all over the news is that South Vietnam is being taken over by the Communists. The city of Da Nang is in panic as refugees are trying to flee the city south to Saigon. There are 2 million people trying to get away from the North Vietnamese army.

            Our American Midwest is being hit by a terrible blizzard and here the wind is like a gale tonight. It’s almost like the Lord has unleashed some of the 7 angles of the 7 vials upon the world.  The Lord will come like a thief in the night and I am so unprepared and a vile sinner. Heleman 13:29 “O how foolish and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and set their hearts upon the vain things of the world.” Heleman 13:29 “O Ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiff necked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you/ Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?”

Additional Material

The quake in 1975 was about 17 miles southwest of Malad City, Idaho. It was the second largest historic Idaho earthquake in the Pocatello Valley west of Malad City. This magnitude was  6.1 and the event damaged 520 homes.

 

28 March 1975 Friday

Today was my day off from Disneyland so I spent it doing my laundry and cleaning up the house. I took my check down to Disneyland to cash it but their bank was closed at noon for Good Friday. In the evening I just watched some TV and minded my own business trying not to be aggravated by Ken Jones. Donna and he will be moving into their new apartment soon. Good.

 

29 March 1975 Saturday

I was up early to clean up my bedroom and the rest of the house to make sure it was spotless and looked nice for Mom. She and Dad called at 4 this afternoon for me to come pick them up at the Disneyland Hotel after taking the Airport Shuttle there. Donna was at work and of course Ken Jones can’t drive. I was surprised to see Aunt Minnie Williams was with them as she came back to California from Texas where she had been looking after Aunt Beulah’s mother.

            I didn’t have time to talk with them about their trip to Texas as I had to rush to work. I started work at 6 this evening but you have to be there earlier to change into your costume and then walked to Carnation Gardens through the underground passages.

            Today was my last day at Disneyland. It was fun working there in a way but I didn’t enjoy being so low on the totem pole as a grunt worker. I would have rather found things to do then be told what to do all the time by the lead supervisor. Soon I’ll be leaving the Magic Kingdom to return to Utah the Kingdom of God on earth where I belong.

            I had two letters in the mail from Linda Prindle and one from Mike Allred today. Linda sent me an outline of talks given by Elders Pinegar and Hartman Rector Jr. Mike sent me $5 to pay for his share of the phone bill. That was really good of him but he seems to be a little down on being in Provo. He’s so very unhappy being so isolated.

Additional Material

"Lady Marmalade" by Patti Labelle is the number 1 song for the week.

 

30 March 1975 Easter Sunday

Today is the Christian Day of Easter when the Lord’s Resurrection is commemorated. The first part of this morning was disappointing because Featherly Park where we had intended to for an Easter Picnic was full and closed. So we had to find another location. Donna and Ken Jones however found one up on Broadway between Dale Street and Magnolia called Maxwell Park that was still open and not crowded.  So we chose that one as it was getting late for everyone to attend.  We went and held a spot and Aunt and Uncle Bonnie and Bill Fagen were the first to arrive with Grandma and Grandpa Williams and Aunt Minnie. My cousin Larry Fagen and his wife Pam and baby little Aaron were on their way back to Chicago where Larry is to be stationed so I didn’t get to see him. They have to be back before there before next Friday s they left out last Thursday.  It’s snowing pretty bad across the country and especially in the mid west so they want to make sure they had plenty of time in case they get stopped in a blizzard.

            Next to arrive were my cousins Stephanie Williams and Gregory Williams. Stephanie came with her boyfriend Chuck. Ashburn.  I guess from what mom says Stephanie plans on marrying Chuck when she turns 18 next November . I guess she’s given up all thoughts of going to college.

            All in all at the Family Reunion Easter Picnics on the Danforth side of the family were my 2^nd cousin Beverly and Paul Watrous with their two children Regina and Paul 111. Regina is a beautiful little girl and Paul is real cute too.  My 2^nd cousin Alan Danforth and Sheryl Danforth came with their two children Alan Jr and Stacie Danforth, Stacie’s awfully cute. Dad’s cousins Norman and Betty Danforth came with Betty’s folks Mr and Mrs Morrisette.

            My sister Charline and Dennis Wachs and the kids James, Denise, and Michael were there and it was the first time most of the family met little Michael. My sister Donna was there with Ken Jones, My uncle and aunt R.L. and Jerrie Williams, my uncle and aunt Milton and Marie Williams  brought some of their friends along and I think that was about it.

            All the little 3^rd cousins hunted for Easter eggs which Beverly, Paul, and I hid. I think Regina found the most being the oldest. All the grandparents were helping the real little ones who weren’t clear on the concept ha!. It was cute to watch.

            At dinner, Grandpa Williams asked me to give the blessing which I did and when finished, he said I did a real good job.  The food was very good but not as good as the spreads we used to have when I was a little boy hunting Easter Eggs.

            Aunt Minnie held Michael for most of the day. The wind blew some but not as bad as it has been. Grandma really looked nice in a dress that Aunt Jerrie had made her. It was so good to see the family all together again. Uncle Wallace kids never come to these picnics. I am not sure why. Half the family is in Texas but Frances and Terrie are out here.

I spent some time talking with Alan and Paul about our Pintos for awhile as we each had the same car.

When everyone decided it was time to leave, I gave them some of the family histories I have been research on the Danforths. Beverly is so sweet and probably the best and sweetest of all us cousins. She Is just generally admired. She said that she would give Linda Prindle and I a reception this August after we get married. That was so thoughtful of her.

I was disappointed not to see Barbara Danforth. I hear she is taking catechism as that Betty was a Catholic before she married Norman and she and Barb are leaning towards that religion now although Beverley and Paul are Baptists.

RL and Jerry said that they might be going up to Utah this August and if they do they would try to stop in and see me.  Colleen, Jerrie’s granddaughter who RL and Jerrie raised moved to Phoenix Arizona with her boyfriend.

After the family reunion was over, Grandma and Grandpa came home to Garden Grove with us to visit some more and to play dominoes.

Mom said that Grandpa Johnson really loved the canned cherries I gave him last August when the Johnsons came up to see me. Marietta Clark had canned them for me. While Mom was back there in Texas she made a cherry pie out of them.

I guess Grandma Johnson is recovering from her surgery. She just needed Mom to build up her morale. Mom also said that my cousin Johnson and his wife Carla seem to be really happy. Mom told me the real reason that my cousin Kay left her husband Guy Ballard was because he couldn’t hold down a job because he’s an alcoholic. That is really too bad.

In the evening I called Ralph Ludders up just to visit how he is doing. I said I would come up Tuesday and stay with him a couple of days in Norco. I’m trying to get him to study with me the Book of Mormon, the greatest of all books.

The last half of the Ten Commandments was on TV so I watched it in color with Mom and Dad after Grandma and Grandpa left. It’s so inspirational. The first time I saw in on TV I was living in the Chipman Dorm in Helaman Halls at Provo in 1973. That seems so long ago and such a precious memory.

I stored many a sparkling treasured jewel like memories while I lived in the BYU dorms. It was such a contrast to Cal State Fullerton’s Orthyr’s Hall experience of 1971. It’s like dark and light the two experiences.

 

31 March 1975 Monday

Today is my Grandma Williams 73^rd birthday. She was born Anne Ruth Danforth in Aspermont, Stonewall County, Texas. She’s over at my Aunt Bonnie Fagen’s house in Buena Park. My Uncle and Aunt R L and Jerrie Williams came by today and Dad and Mom took them out for dinner. I really love R L and Jerrie. They are such neat people/ R L has a reputation as being a grouch but he’s always been good to me. He’s interested in genealogy especially the Peacocks who were outlaws so we spent much of the evening visiting while Jerrie and Mom were gabbing. Jerrie is such a sweet loving person. She is so devoted to the family. I do hope they come up to see me in August so I can show them around.

            Donna and Ken Jones spent much of the day moving into their new apartment over on Cerritos and Magnolia in Anaheim. I helped them move in some boxes.         A week from today I’ll be in Utah God willing.