1973-RO

January 1,1974

Dear Mom and Dad,

It is the start of the new year and I have been looking back at the past year and so much has gone on. LBJ died in the beginning of 1973 which if you think about it the big scheme of things is nothing major. Everyone dies but he was President of the United States once. He was hated for so long because of the Vietnam War. I know the war had to be troubling for him but at least he does not have to worry about it anymore. The 22nd of January the Supreme Court came out this the verdict that women have the right of abortion. This is a troubling subject and I can see this being a troubling problem for many years to come. The 27th our government signed the Paris Peace Accords which ended our involvement in the Vietnam War. WE should of never been in this war in the first place. So many men died during this conflict. I am just glad that I did not go but I did have to spend a few nights in jail due to my beliefs.

The Watergate Scandal has been all over the news this past year and I hope that it will come to a conclusion soon. This should never have happened. In March, the investigation was blown open due to a letter McCord sent to Judge Sirica. The letter saying that McCord lied and that he had knowledge about the Watergate break in. This allowed for further investigation and finding out that Nixon was involved in the break in. Several White House aids and other personnel resigned. At the end of the month the last of our soldiers left Vietnam. I am glad our men are home maybe they can find some peace.

In April, the World Trade Center opens. Man, are those building tall. I wish both of you could have been there when they the ribbon cutting ceremony happened. These building can be seen all over New York City. Pioneer 11 was launched to explore our solar system. I can wait to see what pictures it takes.

In June we have had the longest solar eclipse that anyone that is living has seen. If I remember what I read in the News and Observer there have only been 7 solar eclipses that have gone on for over 7 minutes. It seemed like forever. It was so dark in the middle of the day. I was scared but it was a great experience. It was a once in a lifetime thing to see.

October was a very difficult time of the world and still is. The Yom Kippur War started when Egyptians and Syrians attacked Israel. A few days later the OPEC nations place an embargo on us and other nations that support Israel. I hope this embargo stops soon. Gas prices are getting so bad that several gas stations are going out of business and I can not afford to get gas. People are lining up for miles to get gas for their cars. I have started taking the bus and I am starting to think that I need to get a bicycle to get to work. The ticket for the bus is even going up because of the gas prices.

The last thing that I can remember about the past year is that NASA launched Mariner 10 towards Mercury to get some pictures of the surface. I wonder what will come back and when will we be able to see what Mercury looks like?

Well Mom and Dad, I need to get ready for work. I will write soon.

With Love, Your Loving Son

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