June 14, 1977 -- In which I graduate from junior college, talk about a friend, discuss unicorns as if they are real, and go into detail about Cinder's great adventure

Tuesday

I graduated from Elgin Community College on May 18, 1977 to become an A.A. (associate in arts). The guest speaker was the honorable Eugene McCarthy.

He was quite dull. I hate to say it but he was. Too bad. He ran for president against Ford and Carter. Pretty nifty, huh?

My favorite part was sitting next to Mike P. He was in a play (Caberet) at school and I thought he was great. I felt honored to sit by him.

That night I said goodbye to Janice F. She was my idol this year. A really special person. Too bad she's moving to Arizona.

All in all, graduation from ECC was a bit sadder than Larkin.

On the next page is a clipping from the Tribune showing Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman in Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. I saw this film with Woody O. The film was fine.

But before the film was a cartoon -- The Giving Tree! Superb! :-)

My relationship with Woody was certainly strange. I used him and would't let him use me. I should have told him about Jeremy right when we met instead of after. Too bad I guess. Woody was a special guy. He still wants to meet Jeremy though. I said we could work something out.

Only 15 days until Jeremy comes. I haven't begun to get upset yet. Perhaps I won't this year.

Ah yes -- the unicorn. The most wonderful beast that ever was. How nice it would be to see one. As I write this, Cinder cuddles up close to me, purring for my attention. I should remind h er that cats are second on my list of animals. The unicorn first only because I will probably never have the chance to see one.

I don't think I've said anything about Cinder running away. She left us at midnight April 7, 1977, I think. It was the Thursday before Good Friday though. She was gone and none of us thought she'd return -- especially me. I was sure she was gone forever -- met some awful death or something.

Then came Ebony. A woman was looking for a good home for an angora cat. We called her and went to see the cat whom they called Samson. We took him home (much to father's anger) and renamed him Ebony. Keven loved the cat, but hated the name. He called it a [n-word] name. But 4 weeks after Cinder left home she returned, all skin and bones with an appetite that would have shocked a bear. Ebony's former owners gladly took him back and everyone was happy. Especially me -- I have my Cinder back home.

Note
The funniest thing here is my reaction to McCarthy's speech. I know that Dean went up to him after the ceremony and shook his hand -- of course Dean voted for him. I think I voted for Ford.

Ah, Woody. We're friends now, but I did use him.
I was 21 and believed in unicorns. Okay then...

And here I discover my memories are not so good anymore. earlier I wrote that Ebony's original name was Lucifer.

Shocked, but not so shocked, about what Kevin said about the name Ebony. I hope he has changed -- but dad was a bad influence in that respect.