On that day in 1977 - 14 July

Jade is still staying at my house. I had an occasional job, running errands or cleaning the house for this crazy numerologist woman, Ruth. I laugh when I say that vacuuming "only" took an hour; this was a very small room. But it had thick shag carpeting completely embedded with tiny cat litter granules, and she didn't have a proper vacuum cleaner, just a nozzle thing with a weak suction. You had to get down on your knees. So to do it "properly" took about 15 minutes per square foot - I'm not kidding! No wonder she hired teenagers. I much preferred running errands; you had to buy a certain number of items or items with certain numbers on them - it was very wacky.

14 July 1977

Mom had like some meeting. [Like, what's with this hippie talk, maaan?!] Jade wanted to go find some drawstring pants. That store doesn't have them anymore. [The drawstring pants store?] We looked in a couple more, and Jade bought a Danskin leotard. [This would be the newfangled sexy backless type with spaghetti straps and made with really shiny Spandex; you could also get a matching wraparound disco skirt, and I did, later.] I tried some on and stuff. [Here I go again!] Then all of a sudden I remembered: "Oh no, the parking meter!" We were 5 or 10 minutes late and we walked by a car at an expired meter and there was a ticket. But then I got to my car and there wasn't one. So I put in money for an hour.

So we looked around some more stores and it didn't seem that long and I go, [here I go again!] "Is that a ticket on my car?!" We were only like five minutes late! So I got really pissed. When we got home I had a lot of stuff to do but Ruth called so I went over there - made $3.75. I had to vacuum the rug again but it only took an hour cause I hurried and didn't do it so thoroughly. Then I had to wash the dishes. [And rinse them three times - that was the rule!]

That night Jade and Cat went to see Van Halen [at the Starwood I think; I was not much of a fan] and I went to Tiger's. Tiger got pissed cause that girl Karinda was coming over to buy the photos of her and Robin Zander. [I do remember taking photos of Cheap Trick when they did an in-store at Bomp! Records, but I don't remember this girl or this transaction. Nor the photos!] Then Cat and Jade called and wanted me to take them to Ruben and Michael's [two members of the Hollywood Stars] for five dollars. Tiger got really pissed, and right then Karinda came. So we went and Tiger was all mad and wanted me to let him out of the car. But it wasn't that far; it was by the Rodney Denny's. [There were two Denny's coffee shops in Hollywood; the one further west was Rodney Bingenheimer's hangout.]

Then it was OK; I stayed at Tiger's till 12:45. Cat took a taxi home from my house so I wouldn't get in trouble. That was really nice of her. It seems like she's got the bucks now.

This photo was from a few weeks later that summer; I was at a punk disco in Ayr, Scotland. But here I am wearing the Danskin leotard and matching disco skirt. Obviously, I didn't like having my phot taken!