The Freshmen Years
My mum was a
freshman in the years 1975 and 1976. Throughout this time there were many
things going on. From kidnappings gone wrong to just the little town events, my
mother lived through them all. Of course, not all of them were good things or
even exciting. But they are the things that made up my mum’s life as a
freshman.
My mother
lived in Louisiana for her high school years. And as most people think of it,
Louisiana equals Mardi Gras! With parades, parties, and no school one may ask, “What’s
not to love about Mardi Gras?” Well for my mother, it was everything. She hated
the parades where everyone pushed for beaded necklaces and to get near the
front they practically crawled over each other. “I don’t like it,” Perazzo said
frankly, “People get drunk; they are stepping all over your hands.” So instead
of attending the parades with her friends, she spent her off days from school
babysitting for her neighbors. And since everyone was off partying and the
demand for babysitting was so high, she got paid pretty well. Still, to this
day her feelings remain the same. “It’s just a reason for people to sin and I
don’t like it” (Perazzo).
What’s one
thing that brings people together from all over no matter what the season,
weather, time, or day? The answer is simple: sports. My mother followed one
team constantly. The New Orleans Jazz basketball team that later moved on to
become the Utah Jazz. They played in New Orleans 1974/75 to 1978/79. In their
second year of playing as a team, they moved into the Louisiana Superdome (Sports).
My mother made sure to note that they weren’t the best players but always had a
strong group of fans to support them through anything (Perazzo).
Due to old
age, my mother can’t remember much about anything these days, but something she
does remember is the Patty Hearst kidnapping. Patty Hearst was a granddaughter
of William Randolph Hearst; he was a legendary newspaper publisher. She was
kidnapped by the self-proclaimed members of the Symbionese Liberation Army on
February 4th 1974. But what really shocked America was when she
proceeded by helping her kidnappers rob a bank only two months later on April
15th and wanted to be known as her pseudonym ‘Tania’. She later
returned to her family and pleaded that the Symbionese Liberation Army had
brainwashed her (TruTV). The Patty Hearst case was a big deal when my mum was
in high school. But the only thing she says now about it is “You're a rich girl
and you're goin' too far; ‘Cause you know it don't matter any way; you can rely
on the old man's money--And you can quote me on that one” (Perazzo).
The Iranian
Revolution was also going on throughout all my mother’s high school years.
Around this time, the Shah, what they call their king, was just barely allowed
access into the United States for medical care. There were tons of people in
Iran who were infuriated with him. Militant Iranians were upset because they
thought he was stealing billions of dollars for his own personal use. This
anger caused them to storm the U.S. Embassy in Teheran and take 66 Americans
hostage. The Iranians demanded that the Shah be turned over to them so they
could put him on trial. Thirteen Americas were released but they couldn’t find
a way to bring back the other 53. President Carter sent out a military rescue
but it failed. The other hostages were finally released in a negotiation on
January 20, 1981 (NovaOnline).
1975 and
1976 were years filled with plenty of exciting events. Those were my mum’s
freshmen years. She listened about Patty Hearst on the radio and even got
school off occasionally for holidays that we don’t get off here in (our town). All
in all, those years were defiantly a big part of my mum’s life. The years she
has come to call The Freshmen Years.
Notes
Evans, C.T. NovaOnline. Virginia Community College System,
2000. Web. 3 March 2011.
Fleming, Frank. Sports Encyclopedia. Tank Productions. Web. 9
March 2011.
Perazzo, Elizabeth. Personal Interview. 2 February 2011.
Ramsland, Katherine. TruTV. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
Web. 1 March 2011.
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