Brierly Hill 90210 presents... 1973

1973 is another of those years that feels like one chapter is ending as another begins. That may have something to do with personal memories. I turned 7 and, while I certainly have earlier memories, they're just glimpses and fragments. There are stories in this 1973 episode that have a concrete “time and place” to them. But there's a flip side to this. While I have distinct memories of Australia and New Zealand protesting French nuclear testing, the energy crisis, Goodies and the Beanstalk and a host of the other TV sound-bites, I am struck by how many times I found myself saying, “how did I not know this?”. I did not know that there was a referendum in Northern Ireland about whether to remain in the UK or not. I have visited Bermuda several times but never knew that the Governor was assassinated in 1973. I vaguely remember Skylab but did not know that Skylab 1 was shortly followed by Skylab 2, launched to repair Skylab 1. I did not know about an arson attack on a gay bar in New Orleans that killed 32 or the fire that swept an Isle of Man amusement center killing 51. I had never thought through the fact that Nixon was elected with Spiro Agnew as his vice-president but that Gerald Ford was VP when Nixon resigned the following year (sorry for the spoiler by the way). Agnew resigned before Nixon because of his own challenges with bribery, extortion and tax fraud. See if you spot these and other memories as you sit back and enjoy the world of 1973.