34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1981

Time marches on... and over... and around... and through you if need be. That seems to be the crux of what I was feeling back in 1981. Once I stopped to think about what was then going on in my life, it makes more sense.

Still living at home, I changed jobs twice during this year. I had left the clubhouse atmosphere of movie theater life and gotten a job in civil service, clerking at the admissions desk of the county alcohol and mental health ward. I "joke" that if you want to learn an enforced lesson in patience and communication, work on getting a person suffering from paranoia and schizophrenia to check himself into a voluntary program while his family berates him to sign the papers. It was an education in highly condensed fashion.

After that, I took a job with a containerized freight company and this would lead me into an interesting and varied world that I would inhabit for the next fifteen years. In the early days, it was working with the truck drivers who were hauling freight in and out of the port as well as the longshoremen. Again, eyes opened to entirely new experiences.

Being "on the clock" and starting daily commutes (a.k.a. "the rat race") definitely started to demonstrate to me the price that is paid for supposed security. Today I feel that nothing is either entirely "good" of "bad," that everything has elements of both and it's just what we choose to focus on that makes it seems so.

I didn't know that thirty years ago.

Reading this poem today, I see a young man starting to understand the value of time and perhaps a little mournful at the number of  "freedom chips" he has placed into the pot. Knowing how my moods could swing then, this speaks true to me.

At the end of the year after writing this poem, I did meet a person who would become a major part of my life for the next nineteen years. More on that "next year."

Christmas 1981

by

Richard Perrotti

It seems like only yesterday…

Fixing the tree, wrapping the presents,

Writing Santa what to leave on his way.

“How much longer?” I’d plead with my mom;

The time ‘till Christmas was forever and a day.

It can’t be cold; we were just on the beach!

The days were long and warm and sunny.

The time we spent, where did it go?

Egad, Christmas gifts! I’d better save money.

I joined the rush one Christmas eve,

No time to lose, plastic money in tow.

Stores and hours flew by in the crowd

But I got what I had to in one final blow.

No time. Deadline. The pressure is on.

December’s only a month of the year.

Take this, Ms. Jones, and buy my kids presents

While I pour a tall glass of holiday cheer.

With age comes wisdom; I know this is true.

For now I realize the value of time.

More precious than gold, we spend it so freely,

Never knowing we get what we leave behind.

We bank our money in a club for Christmas.

So shouldn’t we save some of what counts?

For the memories you reap from time well worth spending

Enrich and multiply in endless amounts.

THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON, SPEND TIME TOGETHER.

The world marches on, December 1981:
1st - 180 dies as Yugoslav DC-9 jetliner slams into a mountain
1st - Yugoslavic DC-9 crashes into mountain at Corsica, 174 killed
1st - The AIDS virus is officially recognized.
2nd - Fernando Valenzuela (Dodgers) wins NL Rookie of the Year
2nd - Moscone Convention Center, SF opens at 11:30 AM
2nd - Spanish government requests membership in NATO
3rd - Beth Daniel/Tom Kite wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
3rd - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
4th - "Falcon Crest" premieres on CBS-TV
4th - Pres Reagan allows CIA to engage in domestic counter-intelligence
4th - Reagan Executive Order on Intelligence (No 12333)
4th - According to South Africa, Ciskei gains independence Not recognized as an independent country outside South Africa
5th - 47th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Allen, Southern Cal (RB)
5th - 56th Australian Women Tennis: Navratilova beats Chris Evert (67 64 75)
5th - France performs nuclear test
6th - Rob de Castella of Australia sets Marathon record at 2:08:18
7th - Spain becomes a member of the NATO
8th - France performs nuclear test
9th - Porn star John Holmes charged with Laurel Canyon murders
10th - -13] El Salvador army kills 900
10th - Jules Feiffer's "Grownups," premieres in NYC
10th - The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan's proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia.
11th - Argentine president/gen Roberto Viola flees
11th - Muhammad Ali's 61st & last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick
11th - Peru's Javier Perez de Cuellar becomes sec-gen of UN
11th - Spacelab I arrives at Kennedy Space Center
11th - UN Sec Council chose Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru as 5th Sec Genl
11th - Wash Capitals biggest margin of victory (9) beating Toronto 11-2
11th - El Mozote massacre: Salvadoran armed forces kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the country's civil war.
12th - "1st" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 37 performances
12th - Gambia & Senegal sign agreement to be known as Senegambia in Feb 1982
12th - Wayne Gretzky scores quickest 50th goal (game 39)
13th - 70th Davis Cup: USA beats Argentina in Cincinnati (3-1)
13th - Polish govt declares martial law, arrests Solidarity activists
14th - Israel annexes Golan Heights (seized from Syria in war of 1967)
15th - 4th Emmy Sports Award presentation
15th - NASA launches Intelsat V satellite, no. 503
16th - Dutch Van Agt's 2nd govt falls
17th - Members of Red Brigades kidnap Brig Gen James L Dozier
19th - Sixteen lives are lost when the Penlee lifeboat goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas.
20th - "Dreamgirls" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 1522 performances
20th - Browns set team records for most fumbles (9) & most turnovers (10)
20th - Doug Small (Winnipeg Jets) ties NHL record scoring at 5 second mark
20th - Harry Krieger/Tom Eyen's musical "Dreamgirls," premieres in NYC
21st - Cincinnati beats Bradley 75-73 in 7 OTs (NCAA record)
22nd - Argentine general Leopoldo Galtieri sworn in as president
22nd - Belgium's 5th govt of Martens forms
23rd - Boycott becomes leading run-scorer in Test Crickets with 8033
24th - Guardian Angels Curtis Sliwa & Lisa Evers marry
24th - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
26th - One of the great day's Test Cricket at the MCG Aust v WI
27th - Lillee becomes the leading wicket-taker in Test Crickets with 310
27th - Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest NHLer to get 100 pts (38th game)
27th - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
28th - Cleveland Metroparks Administrative offices move from downtown to Zoo
28th - Warner-Elektra-Atlantic raises price of 45 records from $1.68 to $1.98
28th - The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
30th - Wayne Gretzky sets NHL record of 50 goals by 39th game of season
31st - CNN Headline News debuts
31st - Lt Jerry Rawlings becomes head of Ghana, suspends constitution
31st - Netherlands unemployment stands at record 475,000

34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1980

I have found that we hit a point in our lives where past becomes present. It's usually realized in unpredictable fashion, never knowing who or what will trigger it. But to me it's a "snap to" feeling, sort of like "vuja de" where everything old is new again.

I believe that is what happened to me in 1980 as I found the inspiration for this poem. All of the decorating of the family house was now falling primarily on me. In the past, I was never jolly about pulling down the attic stairs and climbing up into that dusty space to haul down scores of dirty boxes. It was a chore that I generally despised and would broadcast my displeasure loud and clear.

I think that the departure of my father and the dissolving of the "happy family" picture changed all of that. Now these ornaments and decorations became encapsulated memories, taking on entirely different meaning as they were placed on display. I know for certain that they gave me pause at times, flooding the memory banks with deep emotion.

Many boys become "man of the house" due to all sorts of events. Rarely are they ready for it; I know that I certainly wasn't. This poem was my attempt to conjure up warmth from the dying embers, a chapter in my life that was now over and done.

Christmas 1980

by

Richard Perrotti

Framed moments, gathering dust

In cold attic corners and emotional bedrooms.

Trudge upstairs, wipe off the boxes,

Grumbling of work and holiday doom.

Yet the ornaments still sparkle when exposed to the light.

The memories… can that one really be twenty years old?

Wasn’t that the year you knocked over the tree?

The images shine bright in the tinsel star’s gold.

The room seems to glow with a life of its own.

The present’s suspended like snow in mid-air.

And two sets of eyes find one magic moment

Of love, and all living memories they share.

Stories abound on what’s found in dingy boxes,

Some old miner’s fortune or a valued heirloom.

But how can those match the priceless treasure

Of love past and present in a time machine room?

The years try to weaken these old magic boxes,

They eat at the seams and exploit every tear.

They tarnish the glow and dust over the sparkle,

So each year we work harder to preserve what is there.

So too lies our love, in human-shaped boxes,

Taking a beating under life’s daily grind.

Erasing the past with today’s pressing problems,

Till finally, refuge; yearly peace of mind.

Our boxes abound with memories unawakened,

Till shaken by ornaments with no life of their own.

Then, nurtured and warmed and shared with another,

We celebrate them together, in a place we call home.

SHARE THE FEELING.

EARTH NEEDS TO BE A HOME TOO.

Here are some of the goings-on in December 1980:
1st - 46th Heisman Trophy Award: George Rogers, South Carolina (RB)
1st - Mel Harris appears on M*A*S*H in "Cementing Relationships"
1st - US Justice Dept sues Yonkers siting racial discrimination
2nd - 4 American Maryknoll nuns killed by death squads in El Salvador
3rd - NY Federal jury finds Reps Thompson D-NJ & Murphy, D-NY, guilty
4th - 2 months after death of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin breaks up
4th - Islanders end 15 game undefeated streak (13-0-2) (Col Rockies)
5th - Bank of Canada's Canadian Currency Museum opens
6th - Jim Bakker rapes Jessica Hahn
6th - NASA launches Intelsat V satellite, no. 502
8th - "Bravo" network premieres on cable TV
9th - 61°F in Boston at 1 AM
10th - Soyuz T-3 returns to Earth
10th - USSR performs underground nuclear test
11th - Dirk Wellham scores 100 on 1st-class debut, NSW v Victoria
11th - The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (known as either CERCLA or Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
12th - US's copyright law amended to include computer programs
13th - "Perfectly Frank" closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 16 perfs
14th - "Onward Victoria" opens/closes at Martin Beck NYC for 1 performance
14th - Anders Kailur scores on 6th Islander penalty shot
14th - At 2 PM EST there is 10 minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon
14th - Minn Vikings pass for 456 yards against Cleve Browns, winning 28-24
14th - Nancy Lopez/Curtis Strange wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
14th - New Orleans Saints end 14 game losing streak, beat NY Jets 21-20
14th - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
15th - NY Yankee Dave Winfield becomes highest-paid player, 10 years $15M
15th - Premier Queddei troops conquers Chad capital N'djamena
15th - ZBZ Sangha registered after 5 yrs of administrative hassles in Warsaw
16th - Alexander Haig named Reagan's Secretary of State
16th - Pres-elect Reagan announces Alexander Haig as secretary of state
17th - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
17th - Mauritania provisional constitution published
18th - Bruce Sprinsteen's concert at Madison Sq Garden
18th - Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts minister Van Agts abortion laws
18th - IRA's Sean McKenna becomes critically ill, ends hunger strike
18th - Vietnam adopts constitution
19th - Anguilla becomes a British dependency separate from St Kitts
19th - Iran requests $24 billion in US guarantees to free hostages
19th - Mutaual Broadcasting cancels Sears Radio Theater
20th - NBC broadcasts NY Jets' 24-17 win over Dolphins without audio
20th - USSR formally announces death of Alexei Kosygin
21st - Harold Carmichael ends NFL streak of 127 consecutive game receptions
22nd - Cardinals release outfielder Bobby Bonds
22nd - Pres-elect Reagan appoints J Kirkpatrick (UN) & James Watt (Interior)
23rd - Sam Shepard's "True West," premieres in NYC
24th - Americans remembered Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds
26th - Aeroflot puts the Ilyushin Il-86 into service.
27th - Calvin Murphy (Rockets) begins longest NBA free throw streak of 78
28th - Mexico terminated fishing agreements with US
29th - Shuttle STS-1 moves from Vandenberg AFB to Launch Complex 39A
30th - "Wonderful World of Disney," last performance on NBC-TV
31st - A Jewish owned hotel in Nairobi Kenya is bombed killing 18
31st - NY Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
31st - Senegal president Leopold Senghor resigns

34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1979

Welcome to the most unique poem that I have ever written during the long history of this project. Considering that it was only the second one, I had no idea how singularly unusual it would become at the time.

The first thing that you will notice is that it doesn't follow a rhyming format. I did not avail myself of the able-bodied assistance of Mr. Clement Wood this time around. (Google him if you desire.)

Instead I brought out a "favorite toy" last used in submissions to my college literary journal. I doubt if it's an original concept but it never failed to spark creativity and a smile from me. (It's geared around the first letter of each sentence; I'll let you uncover it on your own.) So this is the one and only poem that does not rhyme.

In the much bigger picture, this poem was directly inspired by one significant historical event that occurred on November 4, 1979; the Iranian hostage crisis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_hostage_crisis) This was an enormous wound to the nation's psyche, one that my generation had never witnessed before. In a time when there was no internet and all news was directly consumed via newspapers and the three major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC and CBS), no other story mattered. Little were we aware that this one would actually continue for a mind numbing 444 days.

Outrage, anger, confusion, pain, sadness... the dizzying array of emotions that poured forth were intense and overwhelming. Despite "angry patriotism" that desired rescue and revenge, the primary concern was the safety of these men and women who were being paraded through the streets and subjected to unspeakable psychological and physical horrors.

As Christmas approached, I can state without the slightest bit of sarcasm that the prayers of a nation focused on one gift; the safe return of the hostages. Sadly, this would not occur until well after Christmas of the following year.

Consider this poem then to be my version of "channeling" the emotional undercurrent of America during this historic event; it could be summed up as pain, prayers, perseverance and patriotism. There is no doubt that at twenty-three years old, I was completely swept up in this wave.

The ironic thing is that in reading it today, I can still palpably feel it all. If the world is nothing more than a reflection of our focused intentions and emotions, I think that the continuing tension between Iran and the US is an accurate manifestation of the psychic "open wound" that both countries still acutely feel.

Christmas 1979

by

Richard Perrotti

Time keeps on turning and so we

Observe, t’is time to

Gather all that’s held dear. Occasional dread of

Each well-worn mission, is replaced by

The warmth that the memories bring. So we

Hang tough as times get tougher, and

Each feeling more precious than any have been.

Rest firm in our faith, strong in our love,

We stick together in bad as in good.

Each person’s important to us as a whole.

Christmas just serves to remind us this fact.

And with spirits united, we will survive and

No one will harm us. Our dreams and visions burn brightly, alive.

            Together, we can.

December 1979:
2nd - Crowds attack US embassy at Tripoli Libya
2nd - Foots Walker becomes 1st Cleve Cavalier to score a triple-double
2nd - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
3rd - 11 trampled to death at Cincinnati Who concert
3rd - 45th Heisman Trophy Award: Charles White, Southern Cal (RB)
3rd - Christies auctions a thimble for a record $18,400
3rd - Iran accepts constitution
3rd - Shadow Traffic begins broadcasting in the New York City metropolitan area.
4th - Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 7, Bingo Smith
4th - Liza Minnelli's 3rd marriage (Mark Gero)
5th - Ireland premier Jack Lynch resigns
9th - Murle Breer/Dave Eichelberger wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
10th - Piet Dankert appointed as chairman of European Parliament
11th - Geoff Boycott scores cricket century in a limited-over international
11th - Great Britain grants independence to Zimbabwe (Rhodesia)
12th - Gold hits record $462.50 an ounce
12th - Rhodesia becomes independent nation of Zimbabwe
12th - President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq, confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
13th - "Oklahoma!" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 301 performances
13th - Strikes against price increases in Gdansk Poland
14th - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
15th - Deposed Shah of Iran leaves US for Panama
15th - World Court in Hague rules Iran should relase all US hostages
16th - 68th Davis Cup: USA beats Italy in San Francisco (5-0)
16th - QB Roger Staubach's last regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys
17th - Budweiser rocket car reaches 1190 kph (record for wheeled vehicle)
18th - Stanley Barrett 1st to exceed land sonic speed (739.666 MPH)
21st - Gary Unger plays in record 914th consecutive NHL game
21st - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
21st - Zimbabwe adopts constitution
23rd - NY Islanders greatest shutout lose (8-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
23rd - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
24th - 1st Ariane-rocket launched
25th - Opening day of 4th Test Cricket, India 8-112 v Pakistan at Kanpur
25th - USSR airlifts invasionary army to Afghanistan
26th - Soviet Special forces take over presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.
27th - "Knots Landing," premieres on CBS-TV
27th - Red Army beats NY Rangers 5-2 at MSG
27th - Soviet troops invade Afghanistan, Pres Hafizullah Amin overthrown
29th - Red Army beats NY Islanders 3-2 at Nassau Coliseum
30th - Rock group, Emerson, Lake & Palmer break up
30th - Togo adopts constitution
31st - Winterland Rock Concert Hall in SF closes after 556 concerts

34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1978

My "hiatus" is over. A long standing inspiration has demanded to see light of day and thus, I finally honor the long history it represents. This dormant blog becomes the host of the project.

Back in 1978, I wrote a Christmas poem that I had printed up at a copy shop on festive green paper. As I did my cards that year, I folded up a signed copy and placed it in the envelope. That tradition, expanded and enhanced, continues to this day, thirty-four years later.

Many people have asked me over time why I have never collected the poems (especially as I hit the quarter century mark nine years ago) and submitted them for possible publishing. I had no good answer other than, "Maybe someday I will."

Via this forum, someday has arrived.

Over the upcoming weeks, I will post each of the Christmas poems that I have written from 1978 to the present day. I will comment on each one which will be interesting. It's like the old adage that you can never set foot in the same stream more than once. Any work is "in the moment" and once that moment is over, the stream of time flows on as does your life story. Going back and revisiting it is an entirely different perspective even if you are intimately aware of the circumstances leading to the creative moment.

As I began to reexamine the body of holiday work, it struck me that there were various juxtapositions occurring over the thread of time. The first is what was going on in my life as I grew up and into my life story. I was 22 when I started this project and it has been quite the trip remembering some of the "inspiration" and moods that I have spun through during each holiday season's "birthing" process.

Next thing that struck me was the thread of history that also made itself known via several of the poems. As I go through them and comment on why I created what I did, you'll start to see what was going on the the world in some cases.

The third notable player is the technological revolution. What started as a typed work on an IBM Selectric typewriter evolved into the genesis of desktop publishing on the very first Mac computer, actual card creation (simple at first and then in full color with advanced printing and digital photography) and several "movie poems" filmed with early photographs and then the start of the digital camcorder era.

Looking over it all, it blows my mind and even though I have struggled at times to keep it all going, I must admit that it has been worth it. Some of the greatest joy and satisfaction that I have felt has been people sharing with me that it doesn't feel to them like the holidays until they receive their copy of the Christmas poem. That's ecstasy and humility rolled into one as far as I'm concerned.

This project will take us long past both Christmas and New Years Day to complete. But as we hit the heart of winter in the northern hemisphere and the darkest, coldest part of the year, maybe this will keep the light burning after the joy and madness begin to subside. I will do my best to post one poem daily but I can't promised that the whirl of the season won't prevent me from doing so. (I have an upcoming trip to Florida to visit my dad thrown in just for good measure.) I will commit to streaming through until "Christmas 2011" is posted and the project completed.

Let's start right now with the "genesis" poem. Cue the "Way Back" machine and set the dial for 1978...

Christmas 1978

by

Richard Perrotti

The child is safe in his bed tonight,

His sleep is restless, his dreams are grand.

Up with the dawn for the rush of wonders,

All smiles and laughter, and we understand.

His joy was built by the rushing feet

That bought the presents, that deadlines beat;

That found the sales and battled the mobs

Of department store bullies and parking lot slobs.

Dazzling colors lie under the tree,

Carefully wrapped with joy and great care;

Grow even more vibrant as they come alive

In the hands of the gifted who gather them there.

Charities! Causes! Don’t bother me!

Too busy shopping, too busy to see

Too much to do to hear what you preach,

Love and brotherhood’s way out of my reach.

The warmth of this day lingers on into night.

We notice how good this time makes us feel.

Peace on Earth, good will towards man;

It’s presence so close, if only t’was real.

The money is made, the money is spent,

So all can afford the feelings they’ve lent.

The rush is forgotten, the pace is slowed down,

The Great Excuse once more has left town.

The message of love rings true on this day,

But usually by tomorrow, it’s ended its stay.

But if only one listens, if only one hears,

Then the world will be better by one this year.

MAY WE ALL BE ONE.

Welcome to 1978. I am 22 years old, living at home with my soon-to-be divorced mother and helping her through what will turn out to be a nervous breakdown. During college, I worked in the movie theater industry and it turned that I would continue to do so for the next three years. In fact, I was one of the youngest theater managers in the now defunct RKO-Stanley Warner chain. 

My working hours are just as strange as one might expect for a person who manages a business that is open to people seven days per week and depends on staffing from high school and college students. For me, Christmas was usually a day that I had to work in order to keep the theater open (and you might be surprised at how many people go to the movies on this holiday.)

I had no serious girlfriend and my nights were spent hanging out with the projectionists and my staff as we were all relatively in the same age bracket. I should note here that I had been legal to drink since the age of 18 (part of the "old enough to fight and die in Vietnam, old enough to drink" rationale) and so many evenings were spent at a restaurant/bat called "The Hotel" where we imbibed a few adult concoctions.

My mood could best be described as "optimistic/sarcastic." I was an avid follower of the news, reading up to four newspapers a day sometimes and well-informed on just about any topic. I had a rather evil wit and would lampoon anything and anyone at a moments notice.

I also remember how lonely I felt without someone to share special times with, intimate moments. I felt enormous sadness about the breakup of our family, the state of my mother and unspeakable anger at my father. "Deeply conflicted" is an understatement regarding my standard operational capacity.

Doing the poem was an attempt by me to bring some meaning to the holiday. I had written many angst-driven, topical poems for the Rutgers literary magazine during my four years that had just ended and I consistently kept a journal to explore and vent feelings. As I always enjoyed sending Christmas cards, creating a poem and getting it copied on green paper at the local "Insta-Print" store seemed like fun and a natural progression of my work/hobby.

Reading it now, it reads like the work of someone who both desired and mourned love at the same time. It feels like peering out into a magnificent canyon and yelling "Hello" only to hear your own echo in response; a rather lonely thrill, as it were.

The one thing that I do enjoyably note is the hopeful, almost prayerful ending about the fact that it only takes one to start something, to make a difference. I feel that this holds true today even in a period that many would call "bleak." As long as one chooses to hold onto the light, it can never truly be dark.

The response to this work was very warm and positive, assuring that I would give it another go the following year. If you want to gain a historical perspective of the time, here is a bit of what happened in December 1978:

1st - Pres Carter more than doubles national park system size
1st - Test Cricket debut of Rodney Hogg, v England at the Gabba
1st - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
2nd - Chanting "Allah is great," anti-Shah protesters poured through Tehran
2nd - Neil Diamond & Barbra Striesand's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" hits #1
2nd - Streisand & Diamond's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," goes #1
3rd - "King of Hearts" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 48 performances
3rd - Pat Bradley/Lon Hinkle wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
4th - Dianne Feinstein is named SF 1st female mayor
4th - Dutch War criminal Pieter Menten freed
4th - Pioneer Venus 1 goes into orbit around Venus
4th - War criminal Pieter Menten freed
5th - EG decides establishes EMS, European Monetary System
5th - Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million contract with Phillies
5th - Phillies Pete Rose becomes highest paid baseball player
5th - Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus
5th - Sam Shepard's "Buried Child," premieres in NYC
5th - Islanders took 28 shots in 1 period vs Penguins Penguins' Ross Lonsberry failed on 7th penalty shot against Islanders
6th - Spain adopts constitution
7th - Islander's Mike Bossy's 1st career hat trick
8th - Commencement of the 1st day/night WSC cricket supertest at VFL Park
9th - Pioneer Venus 2 drops 5 probes into atmosphere of Venus
9th - 1st game of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does
10th - "Platinum" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 33 performances
10th - 67th Davis Cup: USA beats Great Britain in Rancho Mirage (4-1)
10th - In Oslo, Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat accept 1978 Nobel Peace Prize
10th - Islanders ends 15 game undefeated streak (12-0-3) to Canadians
11th - 6 masked men bound 10 employees at Lufthansa cargo area at NY Kennedy Airport & made off with $5.8 M in cash & jewelry
13th - Susan B Anthony dollar, 1st US coin to honor a woman, issued
14th - "Ballroom" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 116 performances
14th - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
14th - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
15th - Saint Maarten Patriotic Movement (SPM) forms under W James
15th - Test Cricket debut of Malcolm Marshall, v India at Bangalore
16th - Ronald Reagan denounces Pres Jimmy Carter's recognition of China PR
16th - Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks.
17th - OPEC raises oil prices 18%
17th - Referendum approves new constitution of Rwanda
17th - The Workers Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe.
18th - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
18th - USSR performs underground nuclear test
19th - France performs nuclear test
19th - Indira Gandhi ambushed in India
20th - H R Haldeman, Nixon's White House chief of staff released from jail
21st - "Broadway Musical" opens/closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC
21st - Police in Des Plaines Ill, arrest John Wayne Gacy Jr for murder
22nd - Kenny Jones becomes The Who's new drummer
22nd - Thailand adopts constitution
23rd - Islanders scored 7 goals in 1 period against NY Rangers, Trottier scores 8 points vs Rangers, 5 goals-NHL record 6 pts in 1 period
26th - India's former PM, Indira Gandhi, released from jail
27th - King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution
27th - Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
28th - 30th hat trick in Islander history (Mike Bossy)
29th - Shah of Iran, asks Shapour Bahktiar to form a civilian govt
29th - Spain constitution goes into effect
29th - Test Cricket debut of Allan Robert Border, v England at the MCG
30th - "King & I" closes at Uris Theater NYC after 719 performances
30th - Ohio State dismisses Woody Hayes as its football coach
31st - "Magic Show" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 1859 performances
31st - "Runaways" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 199 performances
31st - CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy
31st - Iran shah names Chapour Bakhtiar premier
31st - Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with US

The Tree of Life: A Maddening and Beautiful Tapestry

If one was to stand in front of an incredibly beautiful tapestry filled with rich colors, incredible detail and amazing artistic vision and execution, you would attempt to drink it all in en masse and probably struggle in the effort. Afterward the initial foray, small details would begin to entrance your eyes and hypnotically pull you in. You might even lose the concept of the entire piece if you went deep enough.

If you were in both a tactile and vandelous state of mind, you might even begin to pick at one of the loose luxurious threads. Do that too long and the entire work could unravel at your feet.

The cinematic tapestry and tone poem that is Terrence Mallick's "The Tree of Life" fits the bill on all of the above counts. It is one of the most amazing, stunning, beguiling works that I have ever witnessed. Yet it is fragile and can easily be skewered by one who "picks at the threads" too long. I choose not to do that but rather to consume this feast in its entirety, appreciating it for the ambitious, personal effort that it is.

How does a film go from the death of a nineteen year old son to the birthing of the universe? How does it then return to the fragility of a family under the loving but diametrically opposed gravities of a tough, sometimes ruthless father and a childlike, nurturing mother? All the while, it strikes scenes of such intimacy, such beauty that they can scarcely be described. Tension continues to grow in so many different layers during this that at times it becomes uncomfortable, striking notes that many have gone through in their own childhood.

The acting is incredible and Brad Pitt gives an exemplary performance as the domineering Texas father. Jessica Chastain is tragic and believable as the innocent and protective mother.  For me, the most incredible acting comes from young Hunter McCracken as young Jack (played by Sean Penn as an adult.) You constantly see and feel the see the internal conflict between love and violence in his face and eyes. For me, it was mesmerizing and painful to watch.

I will be shocked if this film isn't a major player next year during awards season. That being said, is it for everybody? I think not. It requires both patience and commitment to give up a neat, linear experience and indulge in the timelessness of memory and feelings as crafted by a true master. If that describes you, you are in for quite a worthwhile ride.

Here is a review from a "spiritual director" in London. This will assist you with more info if you choose to see this: http://www.lfpress.com/comment/2011/08/02/18499111.html