Observation — 1980, Another Brick In The Wall

 The U.S. broke diplomatic ties with Iran. An aborted rescue mission in Iran resulted in eight dead U.S soldiers. Nuns killed in El Salvador — just part of a 12-year-nightmare that did not reflect well on any of the participants. FBI undertook ABSCAM (inspiration for the movie, American Hustle). John Lennon was killed. John Wayne Gacy was found guilty of killing 33 young men. Mount St. Helens erupted, awakening after 123-year slumber. President Jimmy Carter announced boycott of the Moscow Olympics.  Ronald Reagan was the Republican’s nominee for president and won it. The Mariel boatlift brought many Cubans to Florida. Ted Turner launched CNN. Voyager I reached Saturn. Paul McCartney was jailed in Tokyo for drug violation. Larry Bird edged out Magic Johnson for NBA “Rookie of the Year.” Johnny Rutherford won the Indy 500. Mallord William Turner’s painting, “Juliet and Her Nurse” sold for $6.4 million.  Talley’s Folly by Lanford Wilson picked up the Pulitzer for best drama and Norman Mailer did the same in literature for Executioner’s Song.  The Nobel Prize for Literature was given to Czeslaw Milosz. The Mystery Writers of America gave its top Edgar to Arthur Maling for the Rheingold Route. We also read The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy-Toole, and The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, The Covenant by James Michener, Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon. and Princess Daisy by Judith Krantz. Top of the music charts? “Another Brick in the Wall” by Pink Floyd, “Magic” by Olivia Newton John, “Rock with You” by Michael Jackson, “Do That To Me One More Time” by Captain and Tennille, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen, and “Coming Up” by Paul McCartney. On the big screens were The Shining, The Empire Strikes Back, Airplane, The Blues Brothers Caddysack, The Elephant Man, and Raging Bull. Jake Gyllenhaal, Macaulay Culkin and Yao Ming were born.  Alfred Hitchcock, Jesse Owens, Jean-Paul Sartre, Mae West, Erich Fromm, Steve McQueen, Jimmy Durante, Jean Piaget, David Janssen and William Douglas died. If you were around, what were you doing during this year of the metal monkey?