Little Red Diary (February 1981): Forty Years Ago This Month!

FEBRUARY 1: Just rested after a hard day's work.

FEBRUARY 2: Six more weeks of winter! Gave a great Kiowa report. Mrs. Cotton ran over a dog (accident).

FEBRUARY 3: Went to Writer's Round Table, showed pictures. Got nominated for "Best Artist" of Senior Class.

FEBRUARY 4: Got a Dr. Demento record. Started my new story.

FEBRUARY 5: Got "Satyrday" and John got "Dawn of the Dead." Diary at first wouldn't open.

FEBRUARY 6: Lock broke entirely. Shoddy construction. Got measured for cap and gown. Got "The Magic of Oz."

FEBRUARY 7: We had a mix-up after work.

FEBRUARY 8: Rewrote Chapter 2 [of Goldfire}. John wrote Chapter 7.

FEBRUARY 9: Got nominated for "Most Likely To Succeed." Wonders never cease. Mike's birthday.

FEBRUARY 10: Got "The Lure of the Basilisk," "Snoopy, Top Dog," Savage Sword of Conan #63, Famous Monsters #172. Got to read Chapter 2 at Writer's Round Table.

FEBRUARY 11: Got nothing today. A boring, stupid day.

FEBRUARY 12: [Redacted]

FEBRUARY 13: Kept sane. Had a terrible algebra test.

FEBRUARY 14: Got "Latin-English Dictionary," "Dictionary of Misinformation," "Macbeth."

FEBRUARY 15: Cleaned out old green and white shed.

Quite a few things to unpack from these scanty entries. For one thing, I was a senior who still rode the school bus while most of my colleagues knew how to drive and had cars of their own. The long ride took almost an hour, and sometimes I even fell asleep in my seat. The "new story" I started was probably "The Old Boy", which became the first chapter of "The Shadow Over Alben". We used to listen to the Dr. Demento radio show late at night while we worked back in the kitchen at Mr. Gatti's; the parodies and gonzo humor appealed to our little circle of friends. I suppose I was trying to differentiate myself while at the same time trying to fit in with some circle or other. The reason I cleaned out the old shed was to have a personal space to hang out, away from my brothers.

But one, at least, wasn't having it. "Shoddy construction" my eye. Mike broke that lock trying to pick it, apparently wanting to see what "mighty secrets" I might be keeping. I couldn't lock the diary anymore, but I saw that any attempt at privacy was futile anyway. It took me a while to forgive him.