My diary - February 27- March 1, 1973

Chui Chuang

February 27, 1973 Tues.

Dear Smiley:

Wow Some day. Mom & Balbino dropped us off at C.C. for tennis lessons. We played but Ricardo never showed up. We walked around & goofed off. Dave set the sprinkler on us. We walked halfway & waited till 11:30. Rushingly ate. Spanish test hard. Well Julio asked me if I would go with him to office to complain about Mr. Sanchez. I go yes & so did Chiu & Simone & others. It ended up that only Chiu & I & Julio went. When we got back (Mrs.Rothsure said she will see what she can do) Nancy Picado had told Mr. Sanchez. URGE to Kill. I fuming at Simone, she talks the most about Mr. Sanchez & chickens out.

Note: It is interesting that my brother wrote about this on February 26, and I have it all happening on the 27th. See the note below.

My brother was mischievous and still is. A few years ago, I was backing out my car, and he banged on the car’s roof, making it sound as if I hit something. After my son’s wedding last week, he jumped in the trailer with the chairs. You gotta love him! I know I am lucky to have him in my life. 

David goofing around in our front yard

February 28, 1973 Wed.

Dear Smiley:

Had to do my oral report in History on Russian Literature. I got up there & my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Well I didn’t do that bad. I got an A-. In PE I will flunk. She’s testing our skills. I have none for gymnastics. Chui didn’t come today; sick. Today was a pretty good-day. I got a 75 on Spanish test. Dads home!!! HURRAH Thanks!!! I got a new purse & film. (a quilted purse) Well BYE now! I got a letter from Pat & Missy. I answered them.

BYE!!!

Note: I was terrified of giving oral reports, and they are not my idea of fun, but after many years of teaching, they are no longer as frightening. Over the years, I have learned techniques to make them doable. I wish I knew them then.

February 29, 1973

Big Smiley face

Note: Not a Leap Year!

March 1, 1973 Thurs

Dear Smiley:

Not much new in school. We had 5 tremors in school. Scared the daylights out of me. Watched T.V. We had 2 more tremors. I wish they would end!!! We went to the Hingst with Mom & Dad (We didn’t want to be left alone). Well its 12:35 I better try & sleep. Mom has a bad cold or something, please make her better.

BYE!!!

Note: We were terrified every time we felt a tremor, and we continued to experience them for a long time after the major quake on December 22. I guess that is called muscle memory. My body still reacts when I feel the small tremor we sometimes get in East Tennessee, or when I'm on a large multilevel parking garage floor that vibrates.

David helping move chairs

February 26 27, 1973 Tues. (David’s Diary)

Hey Snoop,

Wow, what a day. At 8:00 we went to the country club. Got home late at about 12:00. I had a half an hour to change, do my science and Spanish report and eat. I did it. At the country club I squirted water on Beck from the greens. We were drinking water. She started to cry and threatened to tell on me. She didn’t. We walked halfway home. School was better than usual. You know I think Martha hates me. Dad didn’t come home today. He’s coming tomorrow. Sue got in trouble at school She went to Mrs. Rothuse’s office with Chue (sp?) and Julio, complaining about Mrs. Sanchez. Nancy Picado told on them. Sue’s on his ____ list. I’ve been working for the last 1/2 hour on algebra. Made a dumb mistake that I couldn’t find. We’re doing cartesians. 

Note: Thank you Becky for not getting me in trouble! It’s interesting to me how much freedom we had to walk around. The country club was about a 12 km walk from home. We were pretty unaware of the growing political tensions and felt pretty safe. I’m not sure what happened with Sue at school. Perhaps her diary will provide clarity. Unlike most in my class, I really enjoyed math, especially algebra. Interesting that I use 1/2 instead of half in describing my search for a dumb mistake!

(Sue here) Somehow David and I figured out that he skipped Monday the 26th and entered the 27th on the incorrect page.

David's Diary

February, 27 28, 1973 Wed. (David’s Diary)

Dear Snoopy,

Today was a shaky day. It must be almost 10 O’Clock in the morning so better said yesterday. This month’s resolution is to write neater. In math class at about 11:00 we got 3 earthquakes. In Spanish we had 2. One of them was pretty hard. When we got home we got another one and at 9 we got a loud and strong one. School was normal. Charlie is a little conceited but you have to understand him. Mom baked Dad a diabetic cake and whipped diet cream. We went to the Hingsts. I passed slors (sp?) and Mom drank a lot of tequila for her sore throat. They say salt and lemon is good for throats. Ma could barely talk because of her throat. For the first time I saw Mom drunk. Tequila is not for her. G’ night

Note: Still pretty unstable ground with lots of  ground shaking. I wish I could remember who Charlie is. It sounds like I understood why he was conceited…hmm…and Oh My! 

I still believe tequila can cure a sore throat but I guess moderation is key.

February 29, 1973 (David’s Diary)

Stupid, I didn’t remember that last year was a leap year not this one.

Note: The rest of the page is illegible.

March 1, 1973 (David’s Diary)

I fouled up on the days

Note: My entry for Feb 26 reads Tuesday but Tuesday was actually the 27th. So my entries for the 27th and 28th should be 28th and March 1. It looks like I made no entry on Monday the 26th.