1969 was the weirdest year of my life

So, as I watched the first man "Armstrong" walk on the moon I was trying to recover from a bad breakup with a girl I had intended to marry from my church. 

However, looking back from here what I was going through was silly in way that I can barely deal with thinking about now.

First of all, my church encouraged Celibacy and some people took this seriously. So, my girlfriend from church lived in Michigan. However, I lived in Los Angeles and people were very different in Los Angeles then than in someplace near Detroit called Royal Oaks where she was from.

So, She was out visiting and staying in my parent's place in my bedroom and I went out and rented an apartment for the summer and gave her my room. It was then I realized I didn't like living alone at all and seldom rented an apartment by myself again. So, she had finished her college year in Michigan and had come out for the summer and was working in a Dry Cleaners business nearby and I was that summer working as an Electrician for my Dad's employer then so I worked alongside my Dad. I had given up the Computer trades (computer operations and computer programming) and was filling in at this point with working at the trade my father had taught me as an electrician. 

So, Since we lived in Glendale often after working full time at our jobs we would take a walk in Griffith park which is a hilly park (sort of like the Central Park in New York for Los Angeles) only in the hills where Griffith Park Observatory is.

So, one day I asked her, "When we get married are we going to have children?" Her answer was: "NO! I want a Celibate marriage like my minister in Michigan Advocates."

I was stunned because I was and am of the mind that for me personally, I don't want to marry anyone without children because "Why put up with all the compromises of marriage if you aren't doing this for your children?"

So, I said to her:"This isn't going to work because I don't want to marry you without children."

So, I was really sad about all this because we were very in love with each other but had had a 2 year celibate relationship already. (However, it must be said we mostly only saw each other summers when she wasn't in college in Michigan.

Also, I had tried after leaving a computer job in January of 1969 to move to Michigan to be near her. However, as I landed there I said to myself looking out the window: "Where are the mountains?" Because I am used to being around mountains to ski on all over California.

Then while I was there about 2 weeks it never got above 30 Degrees and this just wasn't going to work for me living some place like this after growing up in Southern California.

Where I live you have great weather and then when you want the snow and skiing you drive up into the mountains and go skiing. So, you don't freeze to death all winter like you do in a place like this. 

This just wasn't going to work for me at all so I flew home to California. I remember her crying as I was leaving Michigan as she put me on the plane. I was sad too that this location wasn't going to work for me because I was just too spoiled by Coastal California Weather.

This was crazy to deal with too in regard to the religion and church I went to because people didn't understand what was really going on because they were not directly involved in all of this like she and I were.

Since then and before I have always thought people who were celibate were kind of insane.

However, that's just the way I see it.

So, over time I see sex as sort of like food. 

When people don't get enough they go crazy like not eating enough of the right food will make people crazy too which I have seen a lot of people do especially in diet conscious Southern California from San Diego all the way up to San Francisco over the years.

So, I just tend to equate celibacy (at least for someone 15 to 40 as a sign of insanity in people.

However, I respect people's right to try to be celibate too even when I realize it might destroy or ruin their lives and cause their early deaths. And I saw a lot of this too in California over the years also.

So, for me, I believe in staying healthy in body and mind. Of course all this starts to change a lot how you deal with all of this by ages 40 or 50 years old for most people too.

So, moderation in all things, too much in either direction causes insanity or death often.

The other side of it is like overeating or obsessive eating which can cause death too.

So, moderation in all things tends to allow people to live long and healthy lives which is one reason I'm still alive at age 77 almost 78. 

Note: The thing I think I miss the most about Michigan in the winter is borrowing my girlfriend then's brother's hockey skates and holding her hand ice skating on ponds and lakes with her with temperatures around 20 degrees or lower.

This was really amazing and something I never could do in Southern California at all!