Observations — 1970, Strange Tales of John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Timothy Leary

The U.S. invaded Cambodia. The National Guard killed four Kent State University students who protested the Cambodia invasion. An earthquake killed 50,000 in Peru. A “man eating” tiger was said to have killed 48 near New Delhi. Tonga and Fiji became independent, no longer officially tied to the UK. Nasser died. Anwar Sadat took his place in Egypt. Biafra joined Nigeria.  The Beatles broke up. The floppy disc was invented. The NBA expanded to 18 teams. U.S. lowered voting age to 18 from 21.  John Lennon and Yoko Ono told media they were both having sex-change surgery. MLB banned Oakland A’s from using gold-colored bases. Jim Morrison was tried in Miami for giving a lewd and lascivious performance.  The verdict: Not guilty. Timothy Leary escaped from prison.  Assassination attempted on Pope Paul VI. Japanese writer Yukio Mishima committed ritual suicide after failing in a coup attempt. Mega-talents Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix had drug-related deaths “The Red Skelton Show” went off the air.  “All My Children” premiered. The year’s Academy Award went to Midnight Cowboy.  We also went to the movies to see:  M*A*S*H, Patton, Love Story and Airport.  The Nobel Prize For Literature went to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Other books we read included I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Bech, a Book by John Updike. The Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar award went to Dick Francis for Forfeit.  We listened to Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon And Garfunkel, Close To You by The Carpenters, American Woman by Guess Who, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head by B.J. Thomas, War by Edwin Starr, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross, I’ll Be There by The Jackson Five, Get Ready by Rare Earth, Let It Be by the Beatles, and Band of Gold by Freda Payne. Born in 1970 were: Uma Thurman, Matt Damon, Rachel Weisz, River Phoenix and Tina Fey.  Died: Inger Stevens, Gypsy Rose Lee, Charles Ruggles, Ed Begley, Billie Burke, Frances Farmer, Hal March and Sonny Liston.