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As I lay in bed on that lazy March or April mid-morning in 1972, I was unaware that, in a few short weeks, I'd be moving house for the fourth time in my thirteen and a half short years of existence. Through the slightly open window the sound of kids in the playground of my old Primary school at the foot of the road reached my ears, as I sipped American Cream Soda and enjoyed not having to attend the local Senior Secondary educational establishment a couple of streets away.
Surrounded by a monumental mountain of comics, the inconsequential illness which had kept me from school was soon forgotten, as I luxuriated in the privileged status of idle absenteeism while my classmates busied themselves with the enforced academic application that such scholarly study demands. Looking back, it's strange to realise that, were it not for the date on one particular comic establishing almost the exact moment in history, my recollection of events would suggest them as having occurred many months before their actual point in time.
The comic in question? The 59th issue of COUNTDOWN, which also happened to be the first issue relaunched under the new title of TV ACTION. Cover-dated April 1st, it had gone on sale on March 25th, and perhaps the subsequent issue may even have been in that pile of comics on top of the blankets. I'm not 100% sure, hence my hesitation in pinpointing the exact month of that school 'sickie' all those years ago. All I know is that it was around the end of March or the beginning of April.
However, as I said - that was only a mere handful of weeks away from moving to a 'new' house in another area. I was blissfully unaware of the fact, though no doubt my conspiratorial parents had been making arrangements for some time. I was only told of the move about a fortnight in advance, which, with hindsight, I'm actually glad of, as the knowledge would probably have spoiled the last occasion I had a day off from school in the house I'd lived in since I was seven years old.
One glance at the above comic and I'm once again lying in bed on that morning in 1972, listening to the faint noises from the street as they drift in through my inch-open window - the knowledge that one chapter of my life was about to end and another begin still concealed behind the enveloping cover of Time's cascading curtain.
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Click here for Part Three.
3 comments:
Beautifully put. I bet comic enthusiasts have a more accurate memory of their pasts compared to the poor schmucks who never kept their comics. The reason being we can relate our memories to the specific dates of the comics we had at the time. Just as you have done here with your very own time machine.
Thank you. You stated it equally as well yourself. Looking at an old comic is very often like reading a diary entry from years ago.
Yes! Like a diary entry. I like that!
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