30th Anniversary

1977 was a particularly good year for me. In the interest of being in a good mood the majority of the time for the rest of my life, I just stayed there. Therefore, this is the 30th anniversary of my 33rd birthday. As long as I stay away from all reflective services and don't look at my beloved children or grandchildren, this fiction should be able to continue indefinitely.

At the same time my greatest interests are genealogy and history where one is required to be totally accurate. As a result, here is what was going on when I was born:

The President was Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Vice President was Henry Wallace (soon to be blessedly replaced by Harry Truman)

There was the Battle of the Bulge and a whole lot of other really nasty goings on in WWII

Mar 2, 1944 For the first time, the Academy Awards are presented as part of a televised variety show. Jack Benny served as master of ceremonies for the event, which was held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. "Casablanca", Jennifer Jones & Paul Lukas win the major awards.

The Best Selling Books Were:

The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

There wasn't an Amazon to push books up to the top of the NY Times list in 30 days. It often took years to get there, but look at the quality. Nary a self help secret in there anywhere.

Prices

Bread: $0.09/loaf
Milk: $0.62/gal
Eggs: $0.63/doz
Car: $1,225
Gas: $0.21/gal

Average 1944 Home Price In California $3,527
Adjusted for Inflation to 2007: $36,700
Average Home Price In California in 2007: $549,460 (In case you were wondering why normal people aren't buying houses)

In 1944 the US population was approximately 131,669,275 people, 44.2 persons per square mile.

In 2007 the US population was approximately 281,421,906 people, 79.6 persons per square mile.

No wonder I feel crowded.

The Top Songs were:

Don't Fence Me In by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters (Unusually Prophetic for me)
You Always Hurt the One You Love by Mills Brothers
Besame Mucho by Jimmy Dorsey
I'll Get By by Harry James
Mairzy Doats by Merry Macs




And That was the Year That Was, and I Was There