Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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How About a Big Slice of Medusa Pie by PITT DICKEY If you remember who Medusa was, please raise your hand. Not so many hands are going up. Medusa was one ugly mythological mamma. She was so ugly you would turn to stone if you looked at her. Her hair was poisonous snakes. We are now celebrating the 40th anniversary of 1973, an ugly year Medusa would be proud to call her own. If you are not afraid of turning to stone, hop on board the Way Back Machine with Mr. Peabody and return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear of 1973. Let us spread the ashes of memory as a long forgotten folk singer once suggested about bad times. What were you doing in 1973? Were you even born? If you were born, can you remember what you were doing? 1973 was actually the last official year of the 1960s, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Last month was the 40th anniversary of the release of Pink Floyd's masterpiece, Dark Side of the Moon. Way back in 1973, the Pink Floydians released the album that launched a thousand reefers. The counter-culture warriors who were going to save the world were then in their early 20s. They have now morphed into their grandparents, but they are still listening to Dark Side. What is it about Dark Side that has kept it around for four decades? The cheery music, the uplifting lyrics, the album cover art? Who knows? It spoke to a generation that now mostly needs hearing aids to hear it. From the song "Breathe" we got the sage but not altogether cheerful advice "all you touch and all you see/is all your life will ever be." The Floydians got a shade grimmer in "Time" when they opined "then one day you find 10 years have got behind you/No one told you when to run/You missed the starting gun/… The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older/Shorter of breath and one day closer to death." The album ended with "Eclipse," which made most people run shrieking from the room, "There is no dark side of the moon really./ Matter of fact, it's all dark." This was an album that stayed on the Billboard bestselling list for more than 700 weeks from 1973 to 1988. It sold more than 50 million records. Apparently the Floydians touched a bit of a cultural nerve with Dark Side. How did this happen? Dark Side was born in 1973, one of the ugliest years on record. Its roots go deep into 1973, tapping a vein of hideousness that rivals Aunt Bea's pickles. Take a look-see at what was going on then. A lot of things happened in 1973 and not all of them were good. Nixon was inaugurated for his second term in office. The seeds of Watergate, which Nixon would later harvest by resigning after the Watergate impeachment follies, had already been sown. The late, great Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace to avoid jail for not paying taxes on bribes he took before he became VEEP. Nixon famously told a press conference, "I am not a crook," much to the gratitude of comedians everywhere.The U.S. signed a cease fire that ended the involvement of U.S. troops in Vietnam but the war continued between North and South Vietnam. Egypt and Syria started the Yom Kippur War that ended three weeks later with a resounding smack down of the Arabs. OPEC became a four letter word in the U.S. when it jacked up oil prices in response to the Yom Kippur war. Roe versus Wade was announced by the U.S. Supreme Court when it discovered a right to privacy previously buried somewhere deep in a Constitutional penumbra. The Kohoutek Comet was announced with great hype and totally fizzled out as a fireworks show. The first cellular hand-held phone call was made, leading to the total isolation of most people today as they fixate on their smart phones instead of where they are and who they are with. O.J. Simpson, currently a guest of the Nevada prison system, became the first NFL running back to gain 2,000 yards in one season. Look alike celebs, Heidi Klum, Monica Lewinski and Rachel Maddow were born. Chic Young the creator of the Blondie cartoon strip and Walt Kelly creator of Pogo died. As Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Pink Floyd met the enemy and he was PITT DICKEY, Contributing 1973. Enjoy your time left on the Dark Side Writer, COMMENTS? Editor@ of the Moon. upandcomingweekly.com. How To Find Network ATMs... With over 28,000 locations, it cannot be hard to find, but here is how to locate a network ATM you can use for free! There are lots of ways... • Online - go to www.co-opfs.org and click on ATM locator at the top of the page. You can also find a link to this website on Bragg Mutual's Home Page (www.braggmutualfcu.com). • Text - you can text a city & state or a zip code to 692667 (my coop) to find the nearest locations. Your standard text messaging rates apply. • Telephone - you can call the network and you will be given information regarding the nearest locations to you. The phone number is 1-888-SITE-CO-OP. • GPS - you can download data into your GPS to help you locate network ATMS while you are on the road. • Mobile - download the FREE ATM Locator app from the iPhone App Store. Several Convenient Locations: 2917 Village Drive • Fayetteville, NC • 910-488-3515 219 N. Main Street • Spring Lake, NC • 910-436-1894 201 Hay St., Ste. 101C • Fayetteville, NC • 910-484-2379 Call BMFCU for more information at 1-800-257-0276 or go to www.BraggMutualFCU.com 6 UCW APRIL 10-16, 2013 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM