On August 8, 1974, fifty years ago today, Richard Milhous Nixon announced that he would resign the presidency of the United States the next day.
And this at-the-time hardcore news junky didn’t know until a couple of days later that the most corrupt U.S. president (until 43 years later) was finally gone.

Several days before that, my girlfriend (23 weeks later we’d be married) and I loaded up in her 1974 VW Super Beetle and headed to her draft-dodging brother’s place in Calgary, Alberta. Her Mom (who seemed OLD at the time…she was 62!) was in the backseat for the 1,860 miles.
We drove thru the night (aided by a supply of benzedrine), stopping only for gasoline and potty breaks. (We were too poor, in too big a hurry, and too wired to stop for a motel.)

We spent one night at Greg’s before Paula and I headed for the mountains early the next morning…8/8/74. (We were horny and jonesing for the joints we’d hauled with us.)
The first time we got nekkid in Canada was a few hours later when we charged into the woods with a blanket.
After the action, we noticed a rack of deer ribs stripped clean about 20 yards away from us…along with a mound of bear scat. Yikes. Back to the Super Beetle asap!

We froze our asses off camping for a couple of nights in the Canadian Rockies, then we headed back to Calgary where we learned that Tricky Dick was gone.
And the Celebration began…48 hours late.

We headed to Banff and Jasper with her brother and Mom the next day. We got the tour of Calgary. Then we headed to Spokane for Expo ‘74, officially known as the “International Exposition on the Environment”….the first World’s Fair to focus on the environment.

The return trip to MO was another haul, but a few things are stuck in my memory. (1) We left Spokane, WA at 6 or 7 in the evening and I drove for 16 hours without a break…even though the bennies were gone. (2) At about 3 or 4 in the morning “Radar Love” came on…I cranked it up LOUD…and looked in the rear view mirror to see my wide-eyed wide-awake future mother-in-law!! (3) We took a short nap at a rest area on I-25. They went to the restroom first, and told me it was disgusting. Were they ever right…I nearly gag at the thought.

We were ecstatic that Nixon was gone….and disgraced.
But he was a choirboy compared to the dictator wannabe who lost by 7 Million popular votes in 2020, by 306-232 electoral votes, who lost 61 of 62 pathetic legal challenges, who incited an insurrection, who blatantly tried to STEAL the state of Georgia, who stole and was reckless with Top Secret Documents, & much much more.
Yet the demented, deplorable, dumbass is leading in the polls for now. MIND BOGGLING….and has me reacting like I did when I walked into that I-25 restroom. Makes me sick.
Come on America.
We can do Better.
We are NOT going back!!!