1969: The year that defined an era

-the first time gays fought back against NY Police as they raided a gay bar in Greenwich Village
-Camelot lost its luster when Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge & his female passenger drowned
-Neil Armstrong, the first man to moon-walk (sorry M J)
-Charles Manson's followers killed actress Sharon Tate & four others
-Woodstock & Altamont (one homicide & 3 accidental deaths)
-Lt. Wm. Calley was charged for his role in the '68 My Lai massacre, over 500 Vietnamese killed
-First on stage nudity: Oh! Calcutta! & Hair
-Infamous films: I am a curious yellow & Midnight Cowboy, first X-rated film to win an Oscar
-Now Classic films: Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid & Easy Rider
-Public TV: Sesame Street
-Top 6 TV shows: Laugh-in, Gomer Pyle, Bonanza, Mayberry RFD, Gunsmoke & Family Affair
-World Series: Mets over the Baltimore Orioles
-Earth pollution: Ohio's Cuyahoga River caught fire
-Top fiction books: Portnoy's Complaint, The Godfather, The Love Machine, The Inheritors & The Andromeda Strain
-Pop music: Led Zepplin took flight, The Who created rock opera Tommy, The Beatles broke up,
The Rolling Stones were in top form & released Gimme Shelter
-Top 10 Silver Dollar Survey as of 6-12-69: Bad Moon Arising, Get Back, Romeo & Juliet themesong, In the Ghetto, Morning Girl, Grazing in the Grass, Love, Medicine Man, Too Busy Thinking About My Baby & Good Morning Starshine
-The Wrigley Field Romp (Part 1 & part 2) John A. Sivright Jr., creator & founder
-We graduated on June 12th
*Recommended Reading: 1969: The Year Everything Changed by Robert Kirkpatrick (288 pp.)