Tag Archives: Autobiography

My Life Story: 1988

July 31, 2021My Life Story1988, Autobiography, Bob Diazjrdiaz@arizona.edu

Things to know up front:

You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Click the back arrow key to return to the post.

Every chapter in My Life Story includes information about me, my work, my family and my friends. It also includes information about events that took place locally and nationally, etc. that I thought important enough to include. You’ll also find that I’ve included films, musicians and recordings/videos, in addition to books that were released in a given year.

While I have included many personal photos, most of the graphic content included below is borrowed from the Internet. I do not claim to own this material. I am just adding it for educational purposes. If the owners of any of the content in the “My Life Story” series want their stuff removed, I am happy to oblige. My email address is jrdiaz@arizona.edu. Thanks!

As the new year began, I was still trying to adjust to my new surroundings. I continued to feel out of place, and wasn’t very happy, but I held on because I didn’t want to waste the once in a lifetime opportunity I had before me. Michigan was a very highly regarded school and a great place to work, supposedly, and I knew I was very lucky to have a job there. Winter was tough, however, and seemed to drag on forever. The sun rarely ever came out, and the weather was always cold, gray and cloudy. My first full winter in Ann Arbor was challenging. My skin was so pale, I had to convince some people I was of Mexican American descent. I heard comments like, you don’t look like a Mexican. Oh well, I’d tell them. I am a Mexican whether you think so or not.

My job continued to consist of spending time at the reference desk, answering questions, and helping students find resources for their research, conducting instruction sessions on how to use the Library for students in English, Psychology, and other courses, and selecting materials for the collection. I also continued to learn the new technologies that were coming our way. The Library’s new automated library system, called Mirlyn, for example, was about to go live in the Fall, and I participated in a series of training sessions that covered the ins and outs of the system. I also had a couple of fun projects assigned to me. One was called the Rolodex Task Force. The work required that we verify and update information, kept on a giant rolodex, that was used at the Graduate Library’s reference desk. I got to know a lot about the various libraries on campus and about resources and organizations in and around the University.

I also began to manage the Undergraduate Library’s Peer Information Counseling program in the Spring. In a nutshell, Peer Information Counselors were students of color who worked at the reference desk as reference assistants. They received extensive training, and were there to help other students of color feel more comfortable and welcomed as they approached the reference desk and used the library. Darlene Nichols, an African American librarian colleague, had been running the program since 1985, but wanted to hand it off. I eventually was given responsibility for it. I was assigned the task of getting a newsletter out and hiring new students. By the Fall I was managing the entire program by myself. I have to admit that at first, I was resistant to taking on this assignment, because I felt that it was being given to me only because I was a minority, and it just wouldn’t look good for a white person to manage it. Oh well. I got over it, and enjoyed working with the students I hired and trained. They were bright and engaged and eager to learn.

I went home to Tucson for vacation in February. I spent a lot of time with my old friends and with my family, and I got my portrait done in pencil at IBT’s, a gay bar on 4^th Avenue, by an artist named T. Barr Stevens. I brought it home as a gift to my mom. She was very ill, but I didn’t realize how sick she really was or that she wouldn’t make it until the end of the year. Sometime in the Spring after I had returned back to Ann Arbor, my older brother Charles called me and suggested that I might think about coming back home for a while. He told me that our mom didn’t have long to live. I decided that I couldn’t leave my job. I had bills to pay and felt stuck, and Brent would not have been able to make it on his own in Ann Arbor. He would have had to move back to Muskegon. I also didn’t believe that my mom was so ill. To this day, I regret my decision to stay put and not go home. It breaks my heart to think that I could’ve spent more time with my mom in her last days, and that I chose not to. Dammit. It made my life at Michigan even more difficult, as I was unhappy as it was. I began to really dislike my job and Ann Arbor. The counseling that I participated in did nothing to help. It was a complete waste of time and money.

In early March, I participated in facilitator training on leading discussions among the staff about the issue of racism. The training was provided by Dr. Frances Kendall, a consultant from California who specialized in diversity training. She took the stance that if you were born and raised in the US, then you were racist, whether you knew it or not or agreed to it or not. She argued that our culture and its institutions were built to benefit wealthy white men, and that they hadn’t changed much at all since they were founded. Thus, racism was “institutional.” And built into our social structure. Her work was all about helping people realize this. Her goal was to help people acknowledge their prejudices and work towards getting rid of them through dialogue, education and self-awareness. I was among several staff members who participated in the training she provided. Most of the participants were from the Graduate Library and were managers or administrators, and being in this group felt a bit intimidating, but I stuck it out and tried my best to learn and participate fully. A couple of weeks after we received the initial training, Dr. Kendall was brought in again and gave an all staff presentation on the issue of racism and the challenges of overcoming it. Another person, Vivian Sykes, an African American librarian from San Francisco, also spoke about her personal experiences with racism in librarianship. Both presentations were hard hitting, and it left a lot of the nearly all-white staff feeling very uncomfortable. Once the presentations were given, the staff was then required to participate in a series of small group discussions, and I, as one of the group facilitators, helped to lead these.

After the training was completed, some members of the facilitator group formed the Library Diversity Task Force, with the intention of continuing our discussions about the issues. We wanted to build momentum among the staff for learning and for cultural change. It was at this time that I got to know my dear friend Karen Downing. We hit it off and became inseparable, and we worked together on several projects, including producing a diversity film festival for the Library staff that took place in the Fall and planning events for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day the following January.

In May, I attended my first conference while at Michigan. It was called LOEX, which is short for Library Orientation Exchange, and was focused on library instruction and improving teaching. The conference was held at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio, just about an hour’s drive south of Ann Arbor. I attended a workshop, Reaching and Teaching Diverse Library Users, conducted by Louise Greenfield. I had met Louise when I was a graduate student, and would later work with her at Arizona. My colleague Linda TerHaar, gave a presentation on the PIC program and my supervisor also gave a presentation. I didn’t do anything but attend various programs and poster sessions. In my free time, I visited the library on campus and was in heaven because I found they had a bunch of Aretha Franklin 45s from her days at Columbia in their collection. They have one of the best popular music collections in the world.

In the Spring, I attended some lectures featuring several very interesting speakers. They included Angela Davis, Cesar Chavez and the writers Cherrie Moraga, who co-edited, along with Gloria Anzaldua, the groundbreaking book, “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color”, and Rudolfo Acuna, who was the author of Occupied America, a Chicano history book I had read back in college. It was at these events that I started meeting other Chicanos and Latinos, including a graduate student named Raul Villa. He was studying in the American Culture program, and was from Nogales, Arizona. He had a girlfriend named Eileen, and she and I became good friends and remained so even after Raul left. Raul introduced me to several other Chicano and Latino students, including a medical student named Roberto Tostado, and other students who were enrolled in the law school. Unfortunately, Raul and I didn’t always get along, and he left Michigan at the end of the Spring semester to complete his graduate studies at UC Santa Cruz. He would continue to write to me, however, for more than a year, but we eventually lost touch. He now resides in Los Angeles and is a professor at Occidental College.

In the Spring, Brent’s dad got sick and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was told he didn’t have long to live so the family decided that he should receive experimental treatment in the Bahamas. It was expensive and promising, but it didn’t work, and he died later in the year, just a month after my mom died. Brent spent a lot of time with his parents both in Twin Lake and the Bahamas this particular year and I went home a total of four times, once in the Spring and three times in the winter. It was a tough time for the two of us, and we struggled to keep things together.

In late October, my sister Irene called me to tell me that our mom was in the hospital and didn’t have long to live. I rushed back home and stayed for about a week, and stupidly convinced myself that my mom was getting better, so I flew back to Michigan. A week later, I got another call and this time, it was definite. Mom didn’t have but a day or two left to live. She died on November 2, at University Hospital in Tucson sometime in the early evening. It was the saddest moment of my life. I cried like a baby at her funeral and felt like I wanted to die too. Thank goodness my friend Richard was there for me. He knew how much I loved my mom. She was my hero. Even though she had her problems, I loved her dearly, and I know she loved me unconditionally. I was her last and favorite child.

I went back to my job in Ann Arbor after having stayed with my dad and family for a couple more weeks after we buried our mom, and I did my best to resume my life as it had been before she died. But it wasn’t the same. I was a mess, emotionally, spiritually and physically. I didn’t know how I’d get through the coming months, but I suppose I managed. Brent’s dad died in mid-December, so we had another sad tragedy on our hands to contend with. Christmas came along, and I went back home again. It was a rough time for the family. Although we took a family portrait at this time, and we all looked like we were happy together, one of my brothers was getting out of control, drinking and fighting with anyone he encountered. He even fought with our dad one night while I was visiting, and we had to have him arrested.

Because I had to go back home several times, I ended up going into more debt by the end of the year. There was no way I could go back home the following year. I even missed my best friend Richard’s wedding in January, and it made me feel very bad. Winter was in full swing again, and the sun was nowhere to be found. God, how I missed it.

This film had a great soundtrack. Released on 1/15/88

I turned 29 on January 15, 1988, and received several birthday cards from my friends and family back home, including my Teatro friends Liliana, Pernela and Scott, and my college friend, Tim Moles. It was a rough time for me, as I didn’t get to go home for Christmas, and things weren’t turning out so well at work. It was nice to hear from my friends and family. Winter time in Ann Arbor was cold and gray in more ways than one.

A birthday card from my dear friend Liliana Gambarte. We were in Teatro Libertad together.

A birthday card from Scott and Pernela, my Teatro Libertad friends.

Here’s a birthday letter from my good friend Tim.

My friend Richard wrote to me several times in 1988. Below is another of many letters I received from him while I lived in Michigan.

A birthday letter from my friend Richard.

This is a birthday card from my co-workers at the library.

The letter below, from my mom, is one of my prized possessions. She sent it to me for my birthday, January, 1988. The photos she refers to can be found at the tail end of the 1987 entry of My Life Story.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys and the Beatles, Jan. 19, 1988.

Another letter from Richard. In this one he updates me on what’s happening with Arizona’s crazy governor Ev Mecham, and he also mentions Emily, his future wife, for the first time.

Cherrie Moraga visited the University of Michigan campus on February 10. She and Gloria Anzaldua co-edited the popular book, “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color.” Moraga, a lesbian Chicana feminist, would go on to publish more essays and plays over the years.

Denise and Mike wrote several letters and postcards to me and Brent while we lived in Michigan, but they never did make it over for a visit.

I had a rough time, and continued seeing a counselor for the rest of the year. It didn’t help at all.

Another card from my sister Irene. She and Becky both sent me lots of cards.

I got to tour the Ann Arbor Public Library as a participant of the University Library’s new staff orientation program. I visited it quite a bit. They had a great collection of music on cd.

Downtown Tucson in the 1980s. I spent my vacation there from 2/18 to 2/28. The city seemed to have grown considerably since I had last been home. There was traffic everywhere.

While in Tucson, I went to a local gay bar on 4th Avenue, and an artist was doing portraits, so I decided to have mine done.

This is one of my very favorite movies. I love the soundtrack. The film was released on February 26, 1988. It would be a few months before I actually saw it, however. Below is photo of John Waters, the director of the film and an excerpt from a review that appeared in Rolling Stone on March 24, 1988.

In early March, Dr. Frances E. Kendall was hired to do anti-racism work with the Library staff. I was chosen to participate as a discussion facilitator, and attended a number of training sessions with Dr. Kendall. This was the beginning of my work in the area of “diversity”. The group that participated in the facilitator training later went on to become the Library Diversity Committee. I was a member of it for over 4 years.

Harris Glenn Milstead, otherwise known as Divine, shown alongside Jerry Stiller in a scene from the movie “Hairspray”, passed away on March 7, 1988. Divine was in many of John Waters’ films, including Pink Flamingos, Polyester and Lust in the Dust. She performed in Ann Arbor at the Nectarine Ballroom shortly before she died. I should’ve gone to see her, but didn’t.

This is a wonderful movie, with positive portrayals of Latinos, for a change. It was released on March 11, 1988.

Brent’s family. His dad had just been diagnosed with brain cancer. The following months would be difficult for the family.

Released on March 18, 1988. Another excellent film, but they could’ve done a better job casting real Latinos/Mexicanos in some of the roles. Hollywood gets things wrong more often than not.

March 19, 1988. This was the second time I got to see Angela Davis speak. I had seen her several years earlier when I was an undergraduate at the University of Arizona. I would see her again a couple of years later in Ann Arbor. She’s a fascinating speaker and writer.

Rudy Acuna came to campus and spoke at the following symposium a day after Angela Davis spoke, on March 20, 1988.

Released on March 23, 1988. One of my favorites.

The critics at Rolling Stone magazine were always hard on Joni Mitchell. This was a great album. They’re full of it.

I’d never heard of Pedro Almodovar before. What a talented director. Antonio Banderas is in this film as is Carmen Maura. A wonderful comedy, released on March 26, 1988. For a while there, I watched every one of his movies.

This was a fun event that had been taking place in Ann Arbor for almost two decades, but there were police all over the place, so one had to be very careful. I used to have a t-shirt, but I wore it out.

I finally bought a car, a rather worn out version of the one above, a 1974 Corolla 4 door. Mine was rusted around the edges and looked much duller because of its age. Cars do not last long in Michigan weather, because the roads are salted and salt causes rust. This one eventually fell apart on me. I drove over a speed bump one day and the chassis split in two, it was so badly rusted.

My picture came out in the daily student newspaper. It accompanied the article below.

Released on 4/15/88. What a great debut album. Talkin’ about a revolution was a hit! Couldn’t believe it. See review below.

My sister Becky sent me cards and letters on a regular basis throughout the seventies and into the eighties after I left home. I still have all of them.

My cousin Turi was one of Cesar Chavez’s assistants, and he coordinated a big fundraiser for him in Detroit. Turi lived in Dearborn with his family. He brought his mom, my Aunt Helen out to help cater the event. This was the second time I got to meet Mr. Chavez.

This was a wonderful recording, released on April 26, 1988. . Brent and I would get to see kd lang live later in the coming year. The highlight of the night was when she sang the Roy Orbison song, Crying.

Here’s a live version of “Crying”.

My first professional conference while at Michigan was called LOEX, (short for Library Orientation Exchange). It took place in early May at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio, about an hour’s drive south of Ann Arbor. I and several colleagues, including Linda TerHaar, Lynn Westbrook and Barb Hoppe attended. Bowling Green was a very nice, well-kept, small college town. The Library at the University had an outstanding popular music collection, and I visited it while there.

Bowling Green. It was a lovely little town.

Louise Greenfield, a librarian from the University of Arizona whom I had met when I was a graduate student, conducted this workshop. I would later work with her again after I moved back to Arizona.

One of my colleagues, Linda TerHaar, gave a presentation on what we called the PIC Program. PIC was short for Peer Information Counselors. Another colleague, Darlene Nichols, who oversaw the program up until mid-Spring, developed the handouts. In January, I was strongly encouraged to take over coordination of the program, and by this point, had started managing it. I probably should have been the one to do the presentation, but my supervisor chose Linda instead. This was yet another example of her denying me opportunities to participate in professional activities. It would be another year before I was “allowed” to attend ALA.

Bowling Green State University’s Jerome Library– a wonderful place. I visited the music library while there. Here’s a description of it. “With almost a million recordings, the Music Library & Bill Schurk Sound Archives (MLBSSA) is the largest collection of popular music in an academic library in North America. Our recordings include 45s, 78s, 33s, LPs, reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes and CDs. The sound recording collection is supported by books, scores, video/film, hard-to-find periodicals, fanzines, promotional material and archival collections”.

These are a couple of the handouts I picked up at the Library on my visit.

Denise and Mike, my two crazy friends, were quite talented. Denise had openings all over the place. This one took place in Santa Barbara.

More correspondence from my buddy Richard.

King Sunny Ade’ represents African and World music at its finest.

I know I was at this concert, but I remember very little about it…

Chet Baker was a great jazz musician. He played trumpet and sang. I played his music quite a bit when I was with KXCI. He died on May 13, 1988.

Here’s one of Chet Baker’s songs that I would play on my show all the time.

Becky, my Mom and Irene, early June 1988.

My sister Becky holding our nephew Jose’, my brother Fred’s newborn son.

A postcard from Brent’s mom. The Bahamas.

One of my very favorite comedies. It opened on June 10, 1988.

Another card from my friend Denise. She and Mike had moved to New York by this time.

Released on 6-15-88. I love baseball movies. Susan Sarandon is also one of my very favorite actresses. Below is a review from Time Magazine, June 20, 1988. .

Yet another card from Richard. We both missed each other a lot.

Seeing Sarah Vaughan was a dream come true and the highlight of my summer. Her concert took place on July 2, 1988. She died two years later. I was lucky to have been able to see her perform.

A letter I wrote to my parents. I found it later, after I had moved back home in 1992.

Lake Michigan. Brent tried his best to help his parents out during his father’s illness.

This paper was used as a guide for the Library in reaching its goals to become a multicultural organization.

A rare journal entry. I wrote more when I was in my early 20s than I did during this period of my life.

Another great album from Dwight Yoakam, released on August 2, 1988. Streets of Bakersfield as a big, big hit and included the vocals of Buck Owens and the accordion playing of the great Flaco Jimenez.

This tv program aired on PBS on August 22 as part of the American Masters series. I was in heaven for sure!

Seeing Pete Seeger was one of the highlight’s of my time in Ann Arbor. He’s been one of my heroes for a very long time.

This was another fun concert. I love Pete Seeger and have many of his recordings.

Oh wow, I just love this album. Etta’s big comeback, released on September 26, 1988.

I love this song…

This folk album, recorded all in Spanish, by Los Lobos, was released in September, 1988. It’s reminiscent of their very first album, Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles/Just Another Band from East L.A, released 10 years earlier. They play a lot of son jarocho on this disc.

Here’s the title cut.

I tried to get involved with the campus gay community, but it was not an easy group to become a part of. There were some very, very radical women running things and they were not welcoming at all.

Brent spent time in the Bahamas with his parents.

Another day when I was visiting my mom, a week or so before she passed away, a nurse came in and my mom called to her and said, “hi honey. Do you know who Ray Charles is? Well he can park his shoes under my bed any time!”. The nurse said, “that’s nice Mrs. Diaz” and rolled her eyes, or something like that, and then she left the room. I turned to my mom and said, “oh ma, why did you say that? How embarrassing!” She shot back, “well, I would’ve said Vicente Fernandez, mijo, but this pendejita wouldn’t have known who I was talking about!” I still crack up thinking about it, and remember it like it was yesterday…

St. Ambrose Church was filled to capacity during the services for my mom. She was special to many people.

Me, Rudy and Becky at our parent’s house the day of our mom’s funeral.

These two cards are just a sampling of the dozens of sympathy cards I received from my colleagues at Michigan and friends from back home. Everyone was very supportive.

One of my very first Lucha Villa cassettes. I bought it shortly after my mom died.

This song, from the above anthology, just breaks me up.

A few days after my mom died, I went to the swap meet to see if I could find some good Mexican music so that I could play it in her memory. I knew she loved Mexican rancheras, and that she particularly enjoyed the music of Lola Beltran and Lucha Villa, so I looked around for some of their recordings at the various booths that sold Mexican music. Man, did I luck out! I found a cassette with the above photo on it that day and brought it home. Simply titled “Lucha VIlla”, it was a greatest hits anthology and it included some of her earliest and best known recordings from the early 60s to the mid 70s, including several songs written by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. My dad heard it and said to me, “this is a gift from your mother”. Every song hit hard and seemed to be about my parents relationship. From this point on, I was hooked on this woman’s music and on Mexican mariachi and rancheras in general. I’ve since traveled all over the US and Mexico collecting her music, and I now have practically everything she’s ever released on lp, 45, cassette and cd. I also have several of her films. She was a great actress too. Now that Youtube is available, one can listen to most of her recordings there, and even watch her many movies. Back when I started collecting her material, however, there was no Youtube, and finding her recordings required perseverence and dedication as most of it was out of print. Back in 2011, I created two websites devoted to her music. One covers her output in the 60s, and the other in the 70s. Included are all her albums and movies from each decade. I now have them linked as two pdf documents. You can see them here (60s)and here (70s).

I’m not sure I got to vote this time around as I was in Tucson when the election for president. took place. I found the cards below at a novelty shop in Ann Arbor.

Stevie Wonder is all over this album. It’s great. Released on November 22, 1988.

My favorite song from the album…

The following song is from the movie, Scrooged, which premiered on November 23, 1988. I love both the original version by Jackie DeShannon and this version by Annie Lennox and Al Green. What a match!

This was the second time I got to see Buffy Ste. Marie. I would see her again one more time before I left Ann Arbor and came back to Tucson, and then again in San Francisco at one of the ALA Conferences. I just love this woman!

The great Roy Orbison died on December 6, 1988. He was a great vocalist and songwriter. His biggest hit was “Pretty Woman”.

This film premiered on December 14, 1988. It’s a powerful film with great performances by Anne Bancroft and Harvey Fierstein.

A complicated film. One has to pay close attention in this one. It premiered on December 16, 1988.

Dustin Hoffman is an amazing actor. This film was also released on December 16.

Brent’s dad was a nice man. At first, he had some trouble accepting our relationship, but he eventually came around.

What a sad movie. Released on December 21st.

William Hurt was in Kiss of the Spiderwoman, so I just had to see this one too. It premiered on December 23.

Artwork by Ana Elias, my friend Richard’s sister.

I received a lot of Christmas cards this particular year. Here’s a small sample of them. The one above was from Richard’s sister-in-law Sarah, who was married to Albert, Richard’s older brother.

Maria Hoopes was very kind to me when I was a graduate student. She stayed in touch too.

Home for the holidays, with my sister Becky and my dad.

Richard, you’re hurting me you brute! Ha ha ha.

Taking this was a bittersweet experience. Our mom was gone. She always wanted us to have a family portrait like this.

Becky and I at a Christmas party hosted by her boss.

My Life Story: 1986

April 30, 2021My Life in Pictures1986., Autobiography, Bob Diaz, Joseph R. Diaz, Library Schooljrdiaz@arizona.edu

Things to know up front:

You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Click the back arrow key to return to the post.

1986 was a year of ups and downs. It started off badly. My cousin Charlie Mendoza had just died in a tragic car accident in late December and my friend Dennis Krenek died on January 2. Charlie was only 19. He was my Aunt Helen’s son and was named after my brother Charles, who was in the Navy at the time he was born. He was a nice kid, very quiet and polite. My friend Dennis was only 33 when he succumbed to the AIDS virus. I had met him when I was with my first partner John back in 1978, and then later worked with him when I volunteered at the Southern Arizona Mental Health Center. He was an occupational therapist and a very good friend and mentor.

In addition, at the beginning of the year, I was halfway through library school, still working at Fry’s and doing my radio show, and still with Brent, even though he continued to live and work up in Chandler. I kept very busy and juggled a lot of responsibilities. I missed Brent, but I made new friends early in the year. Thaddeus and Sandahbeth Spae showed up in my life in early January, and they hung out with me for about a month or so. They were musicians and gypsies, shady characters to some people, I’m sure, but nice people to me. Sandahbeth hailed from Virginia, had a gorgeous voice and could sing just about anything, from swinging jazz to blues to country music. Thaddeus was a hyper-active, multi-talented instrumentalist from the Northwest. Together they made an odd, but happy couple, and they called themselves “Amber Tide”. One day, on my birthday, I invited them to my parents house to hang out with me and my family, as my mom had made food and bought me a birthday cake. They graciously performed a few numbers, and we all had a blast. My mother was especially thrilled when Sandahbeth sang the Hank Williams tune, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” just for her. I can’t remember how long they stayed at my house. It might have been a month or more. I had to get them to move on eventually. My friend and landlord Ted thought they had stolen his son’s stereo equipment, as it went missing one day. Who knows? It’s possible they did it. I didn’t think so, but I was so naïve at the time, the possibility that these two roving gypsies would do something like that never crossed my mind.

I got increasingly jaded working at Fry’s. I took my job for granted and didn’t realize how good it was. I felt tied to the money as I was acquiring debt in the mid-80s, and I needed the job to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head. The company knew I was about to reach my 10-year anniversary, and thus close to getting vested with the Union’s pension plan, so I believe they were looking to get me fired. I was also active as a union steward and was busy recruiting new members, which didn’t help my cause at all. In mid-May, the unimaginable happened. I got fired for ringing out my own order during a break. One of the assistant managers, who didn’t like me, caught me doing this and informed me that it was against company policy and that he would see to it that I was terminated for it. I was devastated, because I didn’t have any savings. I was unemployed for a month and a half, I believe, until I finally found a job at Sears in the auto parts department in early July. It was humiliating. I hated that job, but it kept me alive until the end of the year.

While Brent and I were still a couple, it was hard maintaining a long distance relationship. We did our best to keep it together, especially when his parents came to town in April for a visit. We both spent a lot of time coming and going from Chandler to Tucson and back. After a while, he started having trouble at work, and he eventually was let go, so he moved back home from Phoenix sometime in May, if I’m not mistaken, and for a while we relied on his income as a tile setting assistant. Things were tight, but we managed.

During the first semester of 1986, I took two classes and had an internship at the UA Main library. The internship consisted of doing data entry for a project a librarian named Maria Hoopes, who happened to be my friend Peter Segura’s aunt, supervised. She was very nice and supportive, and one of the only librarians of color on the staff. The internship also consisted of spending time at the reference desk, helping students and others find materials for their research, and answering basic reference questions. I learned a lot working at the reference desk, even though I didn’t feel the same level of support from some of the librarians with whom I worked while working there that I got from working with Maria.

My other classes were titled Reference Sources in the Humanities and An Introduction to Bibliography, in which I did quite well. For my class project, I compiled a comprehensive annotated bibliography on the works of Margaret Randall, a writer and poet who had lived in Mexico, Cuba and Nicaragua for many years, and who had recently returned to the U.S. She was currently under the threat of deportation because when she became a Mexican citizen, she gave up her American citizenship. The US government did not like her writings, either, which were all about life in socialist society. They thought her too dangerous and sought to keep her out of the country. I attended a reading she gave one night in late January at the U of A Social Sciences Auditorium, and decided that I wanted to find out more about her, so I took on the task of compiling all of her works and reviews about her works into one very long, annotated bibliography. I received an A on the project, and even got to correspond with Ms. Randall during the course of completing it. She was also able to use my bibliography in court as a record of her work. I was thrilled about that.

My classes in the Fall weren’t nearly as interesting as my Spring courses, but I got through them, and graduated in December with a 3.76 grade point average. My parents were ecstatic that I had completed yet another degree, and I was happy and relieved that I had finally finished the program. I was so lucky to have my parent’s support. They were always there for me. Even though I couldn’t handle living at home, I knew I could always pop over for a bite to eat, and my mom helped me with my laundry and ironing. She would always jokingly say to me, “mijito, I’m going to live another year, so I can see you graduate”. I wondered to myself, oh, oh, now what? She was ill at the time, and would only be with us just a short while longer, unfortunately.

Throughout the year, I continued to host the Chicano Connection Revisited on KXCI. I saved many of my playlists and have posted them all in the Chicano Connection Archive. I also have several cassette tapes of programs that I did this particular year, and will eventually get around to posting them in the archive too. Some of these shows include my buddy Richard Elias. He co-hosted several of them with me in the Fall. One of the highlights of the year was getting the opportunity to guest host for Ted Warmbrand’s show, “Music from the Living Loom”. Jamie Anderson, a local women’s music performer, and I collaborated on producing a gay pride Father’s Day show. Links to the show are included below. While the sound quality isn’t great, I’m glad I was able get this transferred from tape to digital format. I consider doing this show one of the highlights of my career in radio.

June 15, 1986: Music from the Living Loom, KXCI 91.7 FM, Tucson, “Gay Pride Show” featuring guest hosts Bob Diaz and Jamie Anderson. Part 1, Part 2.

KXCI sponsored lots of great concerts in 1986, many of which I attended, and my friend and landlord Ted Warmbrand also brought in several wonderful musical performers, so all in all I had a great time attending lots of concerts while continuing to build my ever growing home library of books and records. Some of the more memorable concerts I attended were the Bob Dylan/Tom Petty show up in Phoenix, Queen Ida and Her Zydeco Band at the El Casino Ballroom, and Stevie Wonder at McKale Memorial Center on the UA campus.

In December, I was able to find another temporary job, working as a cashier at the Food Conspiracy Co-Op. I liked this job much better than the one at Sears, but I kept them both until the end of the year. In mid-December, I started job hunting, and I found a job in Nogales as a public services and children’s librarian. I hadn’t really prepared myself to be a public librarian and was hoping to become an academic librarian, but this job was available and I needed one fast. I was hired before the year ended, so Brent and I packed everything up and were ready to move to Nogales by the beginning of January. A new chapter in our lives was about to begin.

I loved this calendar. It was locally produced.

My good friend Dennis died on January 2. He was 33 years old. This photo was taken back in 1978 when we were visiting Nogales with my then partner John.

Sandahbeth and Thaddeus Spae performed 3 songs for my friends and family at my birthday party. They sure were talented. To hear them sing, my previous blog post.

I ended up dropping two classes. The three that I kept were enough to keep me quite busy.

Information Sources in Humanities and Social Sciences was one of my favorite courses. It was taught by Dr. Don Dickinson. He was my favorite teacher.

The reference desk at the UA Main Library. Part of my internship consisted of spending time answering reference questions at “the desk”.

The card catalog was impressive. Staff spent hours each day updating it.

I attended this reading, and afterwards decided to do my Bibliography project on the works of Margaret Randall for my Bibliography Seminar class.

This performance was really fun. It was held in the Social Sciences Auditorium on the UA campus.

This event was wonderful theater. The comedy was spot on.

This was a sad day for the country. The whole world watched this tragedy live on television. The explosion occurred right after take off, and all of the crew members were killed instantly.

Bette Midler did several comedies in the mid-80s. This film was released on January 31, 1986

He’s baaacckk. He performed on 02/01/86.

This is one of my first attempts at putting together a research guide. 02/11/86. I think I got an “A” on it.

This album dealt with the current political situation. It was a scathing critique of the Reagan presidency. Released 02/18/86. The next song is one of my favorites.

Anita Baker had several hits with this album. It’s gorgeous.

Ted decided to feature himself in concert this year. He’s a wonderful storyteller and performer.

Brent’s parents visited in early April. They took this photo of us in front of our house.

This album was a big hit. It included the duet, “On My Own”, that Patti sang with Michael McDonald. Released on April 28, 1986

Released in the U.S. in April 1986. A wonderful gay love story.

Here are some of my exams, papers and projects I completed during the Spring, 1986 school semester:

02/11/86: Guide to Reference Materials in Jazz, LI S 571, Information Sources in the Humanities, Dr. Dickinson.

02/20/86: Exam in LI S 526, Introduction to Bibliography, Dr. Dickinson.

05/05/86: Margaret Randall: An Annotated Bibliography, in LI S 526, Introduction to Bibliography, Dr. Dickinson

Here is a letter I received from Margaret Randall after I sent her my completed bibliography project. Receiving this was the thrill of a lifetime. After all these years, she still remembers me too, as I was recently in touch with her on Facebook. She’s since written much more and continues her writing to this day.

I did well this semester. A few more classes, and I’d be done!

After working for Fry’s for 10 years, I was fired for ringing out my own order when on a break. The Union was able to ensure that I was vested so that I could receive a pension in later life, but even after having put in 10 years of time with the company, they couldn’t get me my job back. Another employee was later caught doing the same thing, and she was not fired.

This movie had some beautiful scenery. Released on May 23, 1986.

This grainy photo is the only one that exists that includes all of my brothers and sisters and me with our parents. I’m not sure exactly when it was taken. We had a great time, however.

I had just one semester left of Library School. I couldn’t wait to start my new career.

The great Benny Goodman passed away on June 13, 1986. These photos are from the Village Voice.

Jamie Anderson and I co-hosted a gay pride show (see links below) on KXCI together. She went on to become quite well known in the lesbian community and beyond, and over the years has released quite a few recordings.

Music From The Living Loom Show, Gay Pride/Father’s Day Program with guest hosts Bob Diaz and Jamie Anderson July 4, 1986. Part 1. (Audio only).

Music From The Living Loom Show, Gay Pride/Father’s Day Program with guest hosts Bob Diaz and Jamie Anderson, July 4, 1986. Part 2. (Audio only).

Every year during Gay Pride Month, a button was produced and distributed/sold to members of the gay community.

This was a great show. I remember hanging out with a guy named “Black Man Clay” afterwards and jamming with him. I sang all kinds of jazzy stuff and he harmonized and did rhythm. He was a great guy.

It took a while, but I finally found another job. I was hired at Sears and worked in the Auto Parts Dept. from July 1 until the end of the year. I was not a happy camper, but at least I was working.

My Sears name tag. We had to wear white shirts and blue pants on the job.

It took a while to warm up to this album. It wasn’t one of Bob’s best. Released on July 14, 1986.

This song is 11 minutes long. it’s a great tune, more like a long poem.

This was one of several letters I received from people who were incarcerated. My radio show was apparently a big hit with the inmates at the Wilmot prison facility.

This film was completed in 1984 and directed by John Jeremy, but it didn’t reach American audiences until early August, 1986, when it premiered on the PBS program, American Masters. That’s when I saw it. I managed to record the audio portion of the film and still have it on cassette. The entire film is now readily available on youtube and linked below.

Spike Lee’s first major directorial effort premiered on August 8, 1986, and was interesting, to say the least. I looked forward to what he would do next.

I started listening to Dwight Yoakam about a year or so after this was released on 08/19/86. I love his authentic, twangy voice.

Seems like everyone loved this album. My brother Charles would do some strange kind of meditation while it played. He tried to get my sister Becky and I to do it with him, and we just couldn’t. We kept laughing too much.

This letter documents all the graduate courses I took while in the Library Science program. I was all set, and would soon have my Masters of Library Science in hand.

What a creepy movie. One you can’t stop watching…released on 09/19/86.

During the Fall semester, my last one as a student, I continued to host the Chicano Connection on KXCI. It was around this time that I got my good friend Richard to join me as co-host. We hosted several shows together, including the one noted below. One time we had our friends Mike and Denise join us, and they danced in the studio as we played Dylan’s Romance in Durango. Another time, Richard and I read the little “Know Your Rights” pamphlet on the air. We thought it was really cool to provide that kind of public service. We were both likely pretty lit most of the time, but had a blast and managed to get through each show without messing up too badly. Hanging out with Richard at this point in my life helped me get through the last couple of months of graduate school and working at Sears. By December, I had finished and moved on to other things. I sure miss those days when Richard and I had fun together on the radio. I have a recording or two of us on the air. I’m going to transfer them from tape to digital audio one of these days…

Aretha scores another big one. “Jimmy Lee” is one of my favorites. Released on October 1, 1986.

Released on October 10, 1986. I just love her Diana Ross impression.

Another Itzaboutime Production. My friend Ted stayed quite busy this year producing these wonderful local concerts.

Stamp Out AIDS was a national campaign established in 1986 to help people with AIDS. It raised money through the sale of stamps similar to Christmas and Easter seals. The money raised went to AIDS service providers across the country to fund buddy programs, food programs, hospice care, and other vital services.

I’m not a huge fan, but appreciate Holly Near’s work and music.

This concert was held on a revolving stage in McKale Memorial Center. It included African Dancers, and was quite a show!

Instead of having to write a Master’s thesis, we had comprehensive exams. I did just fine.

This is one of my very favorite albums. Released in November, 1986. Beautiful through and through.

I worked here for about a month at the end of the year as a temporary employee.

Here are some of my papers and exams from the Fall semester:

09/24/86: Exam #1, Research Methods, LI S 506, Dr. Hurt.

10/07/86: Exam, Academic Librarianship LI S 540, Dr. Dickinson.

10/10/86: Historical Analysis Paper, Research Method, LI S 506, Dr. Hurt.

10/22/86: Exam #2, Research Methods, LI S 506, Dr. Hurt.

12/08/86: Hispanics In Librarianship paper, Academic Librarianship, LI S 540, Dr. Dickinson.

12/10/86: Quantitative Analysis Paper, Research Methods, LI S 506, Dr. Hurt.

My last report card. I was so relieved and happy I made it to the end. Finally!

My unofficial college transcripts. It includes every course I ever took at the UofA.

Once I graduated, I was done with formal education for good. While I have attempted to go back to school to take a class here and there, I’ve never been able to stick it out.

I only recognize a few names on these lists, but these were my classmates in Library School.

Little did I know when I dropped out of high school ten years earlier that I would get this far. I was now ready to get to work doing something I really wanted to do…

My Dad and I in the McKale parking lot on the day I graduated.

My parents and I in our front yard the day I graduated. My dad was the only family member who attended both my UA graduations.

A graduation card from my big brother Charles.

A Christmas card from my buddy Richard Elias. I’ve saved every one he’s ever sent me.

My Life Story: 1985

April 19, 2021My Life in Pictures1985, Autobiography, Bob Diaz, Joseph R. Diazjrdiaz@arizona.edu

Things to know up front:

You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Click the back arrow key to return to the post.

Personal life

By the time I turned 26, most of my life since adolescence had been consumed with looking for that one person that I could be in love with and who would love me in return. There were lots of guys along the way who I fell for, but all of them, with the exception of one, were out of reach. That one person who I did connect with stayed with me for 8 months from the summer of 1979 to early 1980, and I was quite happy for the bulk of that time. I loved having a companion. I felt complete, and I had a real friend. When we broke up, I was devastated, but I was young and resilient, and I survived. Work and school kept me busy, and I had lots of friends to spend time with. I have to admit, however, that those years when I was single again, between the summer of 1980 and winter of 1984, were rough. I hated being alone, I hated the bar scene, I partied too much, and I hated myself for trying to pretend I was straight when I dated women. Then one day in the middle of December, 1984, Brent Bates showed up in my life, and we fell in love. He was nine months older than me and was from Muskegon, Michigan. I spent the next six years of my life with him. Little did we know when we met, where our relationship would take us.

Brent moved in within a month after we had met, so he must have been settled in with me by the end of January. The house on Manlove St. that I had moved into the previous summer was nice and roomy, and there was plenty of space for two people. Once again, I felt that I had what I wanted—to be in a relationship with someone I loved. The first 8 months of our time together were exceptionally happy ones. We got along well and while we came from different backgrounds and had a lot of differences, we did our best to communicate openly and to understand one another. We also both enjoyed partying and had fun going to concerts and movies together.

Brent worked in the shipping/receiving department at Mervyn’s Department Store when we met. He was a conscientious person, with a strong work ethic. While he had just a high school education, he always sought to improve himself in one way or another. Within a couple of months after having moved in with me, he bought a new car, a little white Toyota Tercel. He was very proud of that car, and he took very good care of it. In July, we drove it across country to Michigan to visit his family. It was a fun trip, and my second road trip east. Unfortunately, I don’t remember many details about the trip there or the trip back. It’s all one big blur. However, I do remember our arrival. When we got to western Michigan, it was very late at night, and I was asleep. Brent decided to surprise me and he parked the car in a wooded area near Lake Michigan, outside of Muskegon. When I woke up I couldn’t believe my eyes. The scenery was beautiful, with gorgeous tall trees everywhere. And Lake Michigan! My god, it looked huge. It was like being near the ocean and quite a sight to see. I’ll never forget it.

When we got to Twin Lake, a small township north of Muskegon where Brent’s family lived, everyone was happy to see Brent again, and they were very nice to me and immediately treated me like family. We stayed with Brent’s parents, but at night, we slept in a small trailer away from the house. Brent’s dad was a bit weirded out about our relationship, but he came around in time. We hung out with his family for about a week, and while we were there, Brent took me to meet his uncles. One of them had a friend who lived on Duck Lake, which was just north of where we were staying. We went on a nice long boat ride while there. We also went out into the country and visited an old cemetery with graves from the 1800s. As I noted, Brent’s family was very nice, and while I found them to be a bit on the conservative side, they accepted our relationship and seemed happy that Brent had found a partner. Brent’s mom and his sister Teresa were especially kind to us.

About a month after our trip, Brent brought home two kittens one day that a friend of his from work had given to him. They were very small, and irresistibly cute. We named them Cleopatra and Frederick, but called them Cleo and Freddie. They were so adorable. It was fun watching them play together. They got along well and we kept them until we moved to Nogales in early 1987. It was nice having pets, and these particular cats shed very little cat hair, which was a relief.

By September, Brent was presented with the opportunity to become a manager in the shipping and receiving department at Mervyn’s. The only catch was, he would have to move up to the Phoenix area to take the job. He decided to go for it, and before we knew it, he had moved out of our house and was living in an apartment up in Chandler. We visited each other regularly, but it was a difficult period for us. Being apart was a drag, to say the least, but we managed. We were both quite busy and that helped the time go by. By the following Spring, Brent realized that he wasn’t doing so well in his new job, and he came back home and landed another job working as a tile setter.

Work

I continued to work at Fry’s part time, about 25 hours a week, but I became increasingly unhappy with my job. I loved my co-workers, but the management staff were another story altogether. Some of them were nice, but there were others who were big jerks. After having worked for the company for nine years, I just couldn’t wait to leave. The job sure did pay well, however, and that’s why I stuck it out. I enjoyed having spending money. I’m not sure when I decided to become a union steward, but in the summer I attended an all day union stewards seminar. I worked hard to recruit new members to the union, something the management of the store wasn’t too thrilled about.

My education

I think I’ve always wanted to be a librarian. Ever since grade school, I would love to go to the library. I loved to read, plain and simple. My sister Becky would sometimes take me with her to the public library when I was a kid, and there also used to be a bookmobile that would park on the corner of 22nd and Cherrybell once a month on Tuesdays, and I would walk to it or get a ride to visit it whenever I could. In junior high, I would have joined the library club, but that was not something “boys” were supposed to do, so I bowed to the peer pressure and didn’t bother. In high school, however, I volunteered in the library at lunchtime and after school, and became friends with the librarians who worked there. One of them, Ms. Koster, bought me a brand new copy of the Joan Baez songbook as a thank you gift for having volunteered and another, Jeannette Bahr, helped me get a job at the UA library my freshman year. My English/newspaper teacher, Jane Cruz, had also enrolled in library school around 1975, and I was intrigued by her stories about someone named Dr. Trejo and the program she was in, the Graduate Library Institute for Spanish Speaking Americans.

I had received my BA in 1982, and for a couple of years, while I still took courses here and there , I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I tried the graduate program in sociology , but as I’ve previously noted, things didn’t work out. I finally decided that I would try something else, and enrolled in Library School late 1984. I got accepted, and started the program in mid-January, 1985, determined this time around to complete the program and graduate, and to find a job as a librarian either in a public library or an academic library as quickly as possible. By the time I entered the program, Dr. Trejo had retired and the GLISSA Program had folded. I was one of just a handful of minorities in the School when I began my studies.

So there I was, getting ready to pick my first few courses in my new program. I have to admit, I didn’t know what to expect as far as what was offered was concerned. I knew that librarians built collections and helped people with their questions, but I didn’t know much else about what librarians actually did or what they had to know to do their jobs. It was a good thing that the school provided some guidance on course choices. There were required courses and elective courses. I decided to tackle the required ones first, so for the first semester, my classes were: Foundations of Library Science, Collection Development, and Basic Reference. The foundations class was supposed to cover the history of libraries and key issues and topics within the profession, such as ethics and community analysis. The basic reference course covered the tools one uses to answer factual questions, as well as tools that help people find more in-depth information. The collection development course covered things like the publishing industry, censorship, how books are reviewed, collection development policies and other topics. I found all three of these classes to be very interesting. There were exams throughout the semester. The ones for basic reference were held in the Central Reference department in the UA Main Library. The professor for the class was Dr. Donald Dickinson. He became my favorite teacher, and I took several courses from him while in Library School. I didn’t keep any documentation for the basic reference class, but I did keep all of my assignments from my other two classes. They were both taught by a woman named Gladys Stalschmidt, a recently hired professor. Unfortunately, she had difficulty maintaining control in her classes. There were two women, in particular, who talked incessantly in our Foundations class, wasting everyone’s time with their long, boring stories. They drove everyone crazy. Many students complained about Professor Stalschmidt’s inability to control the class, and as a result, she didn’t last long at the school. I really liked her, however. It’s too bad some people had such big mouths. They ruined the class for a lot of people.

My assignments for both classes are available here:

1/24: Essay in collection development class on growing up with reading and books.
2/12/85: Assignment one in Collection Development class
3/4/85: Exam in Collection Development class/Stalschmidt
3/13: Assignment 2 in Collection Development class
3/14: Exam in Foundations class
04/01/85: Collection Development class, assignment 3
04/16/85: Foundations class assignment 2
04/29/85: LS 503 Collection Development selection project
05/08/85: Foundations class assignment 3

I ended up getting all A’s this particular semester. I was off to a great start.

In early May, the Mexican American Studies department held a convocation for Mexican American students. The guest speaker was the legendary activist, Jose Angel Gutierrez. In the late Sixties, he founded “La Raza Unida”, a political party in south Texas that had quite an impact in communities along the Rio Grande. The party spread to other regions of the Southwest, including the Tucson area. Gutierrez also authored several books, and was a revered leader in the Chicano movement.

When summer rolled around, I decided to do volunteer work at the Valencia branch of the Tucson Public Library. It was an interesting experience, but I didn’t put in as many hours as I would have liked. I also tried to get involved with the Tucson Lesbian and Gay Pride committee, but I dropped out after just a couple of meetings. The summer went by quickly. I received great news by summer’s end, and that was that I was being given a lot of financial aid. I was quite excited and humbled at the same time. I was, for a change, getting recognition for doing well in my studies.

In August, I enrolled in several classes, including Introduction to Information Science, Research Methods, the History of the US , Library Management and Cataloging. By October, however, I reduced my course load by dropping the research methods class and the history class. With Brent gone, I felt depressed, and I didn’t do as well in school as I could have. I even missed an important AZLA meeting, where I was supposed to receive the Alice B Goode Scholarship. Believe it or not, I really enjoyed taking cataloging. The professor, Margaret Maxwell, was a real pro, and she knew her stuff, and taught it well. My management class was taught by a lady named Helen Gothberg. She was very nice, and I did well in the class. My other class, Intoduction to Information Science, was essentially all about computers, which were just starting to catch on in the wider world. It was at this time that pc’s and word processors were starting to become more affordable. While I didn’t care for the class, I did learn the fundamentals of using databases, spreadsheets and word processing software.

Here are some of my management class papers from the Fall semester:

09/26/85: Planning paper in Management class
10/15/85: Library Management budget exercise
11/14/85: Management class performance project

I ended the semester getting A’s in cataloging and management, and a B in Info. Science. One year down, one year to go!

Radio

When the year started, I was still hosting the Friday morning music mix and I was running the board for my friend and landlord, Ted Warmbrand, who hosted a program on Saturdays titled “Music from the Living Loom.” Ted was a challenge to work with at times, but he has always been a good hearted soul, so I didn’t mind helping him out. I loved doing my morning mix show, as I could play both Latin music and music in English, spanning a wide array of genres. There were guidelines in place, of course, as to what we should emphasize (lots of contemporary jazz. I called it elevator music), but we were also given a lot of freedom to play lots of different types of music. I particularly enjoyed adding leftist leaning, political music to my mixes, and found that overall, people really liked what I had to offer. I even got to produce a couple of special tribute shows, one on Aretha Franklin and another on Billie Holiday. I also came out on the air around this time. I vividly recall playing a song called “Glad to be Gay” and saying during the introduction, “I dedicate this to all of my brothers and sisters”. As luck would have it, one of my own siblings was listening at the time too! If he didn’t know I was gay before, he knew at that moment, that’s for sure!

Unfortunately, over time, the management of the station started to crack down on those of us who were stretching the boundaries of what was considered “acceptable” for daytime programming. One day sometime in March, I decided to play a tune titled, “Shoot First”, by Judy Collins. It’s an anti-gun song. After the show, I was called into the program manager’s office, and he let me know that he did not approve of my musical choices that day. I had also been getting harassed by Roger, another station manager, for bringing in my own music. That was enough for me. I decided right then and there to hang up my headphones, and I quit, which in hindsight was a bad move, but I was stubborn and didn’t like the idea of not having creative license to play what I thought I should be able to play. I had other things going on anyway, such as work and school. I have kept several cassette tapes of my shows from this time period. At some point, I’ll have them transferred and included in my Chicano Connection archive. Here are some of my playlists from the time:

My time away from the station didn’t last too long. One night at a street party, I ran into the station manager, Paul, and he asked me to come back to host one of the Thursday night Latin slots, from 11pm to 1am. While the hours weren’t great, I was happy to be able to go back, so on June 11, 1985, I started back up again at KXCI and called my new show “The Chicano Connection Revisited”. I would continue doing this show until the end of 1986, when I graduated from Library School.

Friends and family

I spent most of my free time with Brent during the first eight months of the year, so I didn’t get to see my old friends too often. I really missed them, but being with Brent, working, doing the radio show and going to school took up all of my time.

Sometime in the middle of the year, my good friends Ron and Jane moved with their two children to Washington DC, where Ron had landed an important position with the Catholic Church. I attended their going away party. It would be years before I would see them again. I regret that I had drifted away from them after high school, but I was young and immature, and distracted by lots of other things along the way. I’m just glad I didn’t lose complete touch with them. I would always try to see them when they visited Tucson, but those times seemed few and far between. In recent years, however,I’ve visited them in Washington a couple of times and they’ve also come to Tucson to visit. Today, I feel just as close to them as I did while in high school. As I think back on it, they were always there for me. I just didn’t realize it.

In July, my dad’s eldest brother Raul, died. He was the only one of my grandparent’s children to have been born in Mexico. He and his family lived in Superior since the 30s. His wife Prudence had died the year before. I wrote a blog post about him a while back: https://bobdiaz.net/2020/02/19/happy-birthday-tio-raul.

My buddy Richard and I stayed in touch throughout our lives, but our friendship wasn’t the same in the mid-80s. He had become very involved in sports and was on a softball team, and unlike me, he was just crazy about the Grateful Dead and was always going to their concerts. We clashed more often than not. We never stopped being friends, however, and we found time every now and then to hang out together.

My two buddies Scott and Tim each got married in 1985. Scott, the guy I had a giant crush on and for whom I wrote the song, “My Kind”, married a young woman named Penny Aldridge, who he had been dating for a year or so. I missed his wedding because I was traveling home from my Michigan trip with Brent, but I did get to participate in Tim’s wedding as a member of his wedding party. He married a woman named Chris Fox, a fellow UA student. The festivities were held in Trail Dust Town, and we all had a blast.

Scott and Tim both became police officers with the Tucson Police Department after college. What an amazing coincidence! I never dreamed Tim would become a cop. He just didn’t seem like the type. He was such a freak, with all that long hair, his guitar playing and his love for partying. He even moved on from the police department and went to work for the FBI, which was even more shocking. While I knew that Scott liked hunting and shooting guns, it came as a huge surprise to learn that he too had joined the police force. I lost touch with both of them long ago, but I think of them often. They were good guys. I miss them both, but so many years have gone by, I wonder how we’d get along now.

Another death in the family occurred in late December. My cousin Charlie Mendoza died from burn wounds he received from a car accident that took place near 22nd and Country Club on December 27. His brother Richard, who was driving the car Charlie was in, survived. Charlie was only 19. It was a terrible tragedy.

I didn’t spend much time with my friend Dennis in 1985. Unfortunately, he got sick, and by January of 1986, had passed away. He was a great friend, and we had a lot of fun together. His death was heartbreaking. He was the second of my friends who died of AIDS. The other was Leonard Brown. I had met both of them through John, my ex, back in 1979. They were real characters, and I think of them often.

My mom and dad were doing well at this time in their lives, although my mom still struggled with her aches and pains. My dad retired from the mines, and he and mom spent most of their time taking care of their grandchildren and great grandchildren. By 1985, my niece Belisa had three kids, Michelle had one, and my brother Rudy also had two. Fred’s daughter Edessa also spent a lot of time with my parents. Our family would continue to grow as the years went by. Becky and I were the only two who didn’t have children, but there were already plenty of grandkids to keep my parents busy.

Other stuff:

We were in the midst of the Reagan era. He had just won re-election at the end of 1984, so we were in for another four years of terrible fun. His administration was corrupt to the core and there were indictments and resignations taking place throughout the year. Reagan also continued to ignore the AIDS crisis, which hit Tucson pretty hard in 1985. He was also secretly funding the Contras, and a big scandal broke out that would continue for another two years.

On the bright side, there were lots of concerts that took place in Tucson that Brent and I both attended, and there were some great movies that came out as well, along with a number of great albums by some of my favorite artists. The following visual chronology includes many of these as well as other memorable events, places and topics.

A photographic/graphic chronology of events and activities for the year:

Brent and I had just met in mid-December, 1984. In this photo we are visiting a couple of his friends at Christmastime.

I hosted an Aretha Franklin special on KXCI on January 13. It was a retrospective look at her career. I loved putting it together.

A birthday card from my friends Bruce and Liz. Bruce and I were in the Teatro together.

This was released on January 15. I love this album. Fogerty’s comeback.

My photo as it appeared on my University of Arizona identification card.

This was required reading in my Foundations class.

One of the first things we were encouraged to do was to join the American Library Association. Students memberships were very inexpensive.

Not another Charlie King concert! Oh yes, once a year, every year. This one took place on February 8, 1985. Another Itzaboutime! Production.

These guys are amazing. I played their music all the time on my radio show. They came to Tucson on February 23, 1985, courtesy of KXCI. The following song, Chain Gang, appeared on my favorite Persuasions album, We Came to Play

Released on March 1, 1985. Love this silly film! It took me a while, however, to see it. John Waters, what a nutcase!

One of the last shows I hosted before I quit KXCI was a tribute show featuring the music of Billie Holiday. I just loved this woman to pieces.

I played this song on my radio show and dedicated it to all my brothers and sisters. There’s nothing like outing yourself on the radio!

Joan Baez performed two benefit concerts on April 4 at the Temple Emmanuel. This was the third time I got to see her live.

Brent and I attended our very first mariachi conference concert. Linda Ronstadt and Mariachi Cobre were the featured artists, if I’m not mistaken. We bought a copy of this poster in commemoration of the occasion. In the coming years, especially after my mom died, I would become a huge fan of the genre.

Another Ted Warmbrand, Itzaboutime production. I loved this concert, held on April 27, 1985.

This is one of the funniest comedy albums ever made. Released on 05.01/85.

I remember this well. Tito Puente played at the Randolph Park Bandshell in the middle of the day. My friends and I danced our butts off.

Jose Angel Gutierrez spoke at the UofA Mexican American Studies Convocation on May 10, 1985.

Gutierrez was a great speaker. I’m glad I attended this.

It was good to be back on the air after an absence of several months. I started back up on June 11, 1985, and hosted the Chicano Connection Revisited from 11pm to 1am on Thursday nights.

Here is a playlist from July 4, 1985.

This was released on 6/15/85. Critics, for the most part, hated it. I loved it, especially the song “Clean Cut Kid” and “Dark Eyes”.

I attended this day-long seminar. It was very informative.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Spring-76-144562297_2884232868522666_753763435785905339_o.jpg — My name tag for the seminar.

I tried to get involved with the Tucson Gay and Lesbian Pride Committee around this time. I saved a copy of the **bylaws.** The picnic at Himmel Park, now in its second year, was a blast. Brent and I went together.

I received this in recognition of the time I spent volunteering at the Valencia Branch of the Tucson Public library during the summer of 1985.

I was one of the first dj’s in Tucson to play the song Freeway of Love from the album, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”. I started spinning it as soon as the album was released on July 9, 1985. What a great record. Aretha was back with a vengeance!

Live-Aid was a huge affair. It was broadcast on July 13 first in Britain and then later in the U.S. I watched it at my parent’s house since I didn’t own a tv.

My dad’s oldest brother, Raul Diaz, died in July. He was a kind man, and smoked cigars constantly. He also played the harmonica and owned a bakery in Superior at one point. In later years, he delivered milk to the entire community.

For more information about my tio Raul and his family check out the blog entry I wrote for my tio on his birthday in 2020.

The priest did a terrible job of eulogizing my uncle. I’ll never forget how bad it was. My uncle was a great man, and deserved much better.

Brent’s car looked just like this. We drove it to Michigan and back in July.

I’d never heard of Muskegon before I met Brent. It’s on the western side of the state, right near Lake Michigan.

Brent’s parents lived just north of Muskegon in Twin Lake.

Brent and I visiting his family in Michigan.

One of Brent’s uncles had a friend who lived right on the lake. He took us boating one day. It was gorgeous.

I loved this film. It was released on July 26, 1985. I read the book too.

Duo Guardabarranco, from Nicaragua. While Brent and I were in Michigan, my friend Ted let them stay at our house. They broke my stereo, if I remember correctly. I had to buy a new needle for it. Oh well. They were amazing performers. This is a beautiful record and was released either in late ’84 or early ’85.

This was the first time I’ve ever heard Guardabarranco. My friend Ted brought them to town. This was the first of many visits to Tucson. From the Az Daily Star, August 6, 1985.

I love Neil’s country flavored records. He was heavily criticized for saying something nice about Ronald Reagan at the time. I didn’t care. I loved the record. Released on 08/12/85.

Released on 8/21/85. I didn’t see it until years later. I have always loved Jane Fonda.

I remember attending this concert. I had to leave early because I had the flu or a cold. Can’t remember exactly. I was so bummed that I couldn’t stay for the whole thing.

A major earthquake hit Mexico City on the morning September 17, 1985. It was a strong one, of 8.0 magnitude, and it killed at least 5,000 people. Hundreds of buildings collapsed and thousands more were damaged. Cost of the damage was estimated to be in the billions of dollars. It was a major tragedy.

Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellancamp put this annual fundraiser together. The first one was held on 09/22/85.

One of the scholarships I received while in Library School.

This novel, by E.L. Doctorow, was released on October 12, 1985. I read both this one and Ragtime. Great stuff.

This great duet was released on 10-21-85. A live video performance follows. These two sure had great chemistry.

I missed the ceremony where this was supposed to be presented to me.

A great song….

I loved this book. It was published on November 1, 1985.

Released on November 7, 1985. One of the best Dylan retrospectives to ever be released.

Here’s one of my favorite Dylan tunes from the above anthology. It was recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall .

Premiered on television on November 11, 1985. A very sad movie. It helped break the silence about the AIDS crisis.

Such a disappointment. My brother Charles and I took our mom to this concert and it was over before we knew it. What a drag.

I was a member of the wedding party. This was the second and last wedding in which I ever participated.

This is one of my all-time favorite comedy albums. Ms. Midler performs “Fat As I am” in the video that follows.

I missed Brent, and I didn’t do as well in school this semester as in the Spring. But I got through it anyway. One year down, one to go…

A Christmas letter from my friend Jane Cruz. This was hers and Ron’s first Christmas away from Tucson.

A Christmas card from my next door neighbor, Maria Netherton. She was a sweet older lady who worked at Haskell Linen Supply, just up the street, for many, many years.

My cousin Charlie Mendoza died in late December from burn wounds he received in a tragic car accident. He was only 19 years old.

My Life Story: 1984

March 31, 2021My Life in Pictures1984, Autobiography, Bob Diaz, Joseph R. Diazjrdiaz@arizona.edu

Things to know up front:

You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Click the back arrow key to return to the post.

For this segment of “My Life in Pictures,” I’ve decided to include the bulk of the text at the beginning of the post. Photos and graphics follow.

I was a busy guy in 1984. I continued, as in previous years, to work 25 hours a week at Fry’s. I was also enrolled in graduate school at the University, hosted two weekly radio shows on KXCI, and continued to participate in Teatro Libertad. While I knew that graduate school should take priority, it didn’t. The bulk of my energy, aside from working, was spent preparing and hosting my two radio shows each week, and in attending Teatro Libertad meetings, where we planned and rehearsed for a number of local performances and our next big production, La Vida Del Cobre, Acts I and II. I also continued to find time to go out and have fun, attending lots of concerts, going out dancing, and partying with my friends.

WORK:

By 1984, I had already worked for Fry’s Food Stores for eight years. I’d been a cashier and stocker since the age of 19. The pay was very good, and while working with the public could be challenging at times, for the most part, I enjoyed meeting new people each day, and I generally got along well with my co-workers. The actual work itself, while at times physically demanding, was easy. I was a very fast cashier and could bag groceries with lightning speed. In the summer, I worked on the night crew stocking the shelves, but it was difficult keeping a night schedule, as I often had daytime obligations. On top of that, some of the guys I worked with were homophobic jerks, but I managed, although I must admit, there were times when I hated my job. I knew I needed to keep it for a while longer, however, at least until I was done with school or had found something better. My annual earnings at Fry’s, for part time work, weren’t bad. By the end of the year I had earned $15,000. I spent it all on rent, food, bills, books, records and fun. I didn’t save a dime, unfortunately.

SCHOOL:

I had been accepted into the graduate program in Sociology the previous year, and while I had enrolled in a class called Social Psychology in the Fall of 1983, I ended up withdrawing from it. I don’t even remember attending it. I tried again in the Spring, and this time took a class called Political Sociology, with a teacher named Doug McAdam. Our big task for the semester was to write a dissertation-level research proposal. Dr. McAdam wanted us to have experience doing this kind of work, as we would all have to write such a proposal at some point in the future, that is if we wanted to pursue our PhDs. I chose to study the American Indian Movement, and I ended up writing a research paper, missing the mark on the assignment altogether. Dr. McAdam was a nice guy, and he ended up giving me a B in the course. I guess I wasn’t exactly sure what he had meant by a “research proposal”. I was disillusioned by the end of the semester, and ended up dropping out of the program altogether. My heart wasn’t into it anyway. I was too busy with my other activities to take my studies seriously. What can I say? That was the truth.

In the Fall, I tried taking a mechanics course at Pima College, but quickly dropped it after just two sessions. There were no teachers in sight. I guess I had enrolled in a self-study course or something. It was an awful, but brief experience, and I got the heck out of there as quickly as I could.

By the end of the year, I made up my mind that I wanted to be a librarian once and for all so I applied to the graduate program in library science and got accepted. I was given several scholarships, along with financial aid so this time around I didn’t have to pay for my education out of my own pocket like I had when I was an undergraduate. I couldn’t wait to start school again in January.

KXCI

Most of my attention went into preparing and hosting my two radio shows, the Chicano Connection, which aired on Thursday nights from 7 to 9pm, and the morning music mix, which aired from 9am to noon on Friday morning. I devoted approximately10 hours a week altogether to this work, both in prep time and in being on the air. My shows became quite popular, and I would receive letters from fans as well as get lots of phone calls while on the air. On Saturdays, I would help another host, Victor Blue, with his bluegrass show by “running the board” for him. He was a very nice man, and I enjoyed the music. Those of us who did this work for other volunteers were known as “techies”.

During the summer, Kathy Hannon, who I knew from Fry’s as the representative from the United Food and Commercial Workers union, wrote a newspaper article about me for the union newspaper. In the article, she mistakenly noted that I had taken the KXCI radio course the previous summer for free. I actually paid nearly $500 to attend the course. I was earning good money at Fry’s at the time, and was able to afford it. It was a great investment in my continuing education.

Sometime in June, I decided to stop hosting the Chicano Connection, and just focus on the morning music mix. I can’t remember exactly why. I think it had to do with the fact that I didn’t have that much Latin music at the time, and the station’s collection was sorely lacking. It would take a while for me to build my own collection of Latin music, but I did, slowly but surely.

Later in the year, I went up to Phoenix to a Buffy Sainte Marie concert that she did as a benefit for the Heard Museum. One of the station staff members, Martha Van Winkle, invited me along, as she was scheduled to interview Ms. St. Marie after the concert. When the interview started, I just took right over and talked my head off. I was a huge fan of Ms. St Marie’s, and we had a great interview. I’m not so sure that Martha thought so. It was supposed to be her interview, not mine. I just couldn’t help myself!

I have compiled all of the playlists from this time period on my Chicano Connection Archive page. They can be accessed here.

TEATRO LIBERTAD

In the first few months of the year, I spent an average of 8 hours a week in meetings and rehearsal with the members of Teatro Libertad. In the Spring, we performed at various community events and also co-wrote part II of La Vida Del Cobre. We performed the entire play, Act I and Act II at various places in Tucson, and later in Ajo and Clifton. Our performance at the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center on May 19 was attended by a packed house, and we received a resounding standing ovation at the end of it. It was such a great feeling and we were in seventh heaven. We had put our hearts and souls into our work, and it had paid off nicely. A week after our El Pueblo performance we traveled to Santa Barbara, California to perform the play at TENAZ, an international theater festival sponsored by a California group called El Teatro de la Esperanza. Unfortunately, we forgot part of our props back in Tucson (our slides), and we basically bombed, because we were upset over having forgotten them and there was tension between some of the individuals in the group. A critique of the play was given the following day, and we were subject to some rather harsh feedback that included some very mean comments by a former member of our group. It was unnerving and depressing. We didn’t even have an opportunity to respond. That evening, some of us took off to the beach, while others attended a Poncho Sanchez concert that the festival organizers were sponsoring, and we let all of our frustrations out by dancing the night away. The trip home was sad, and seemed to take much longer than the trip to the festival. We were crushed.

But as they say, the show must go on. Our performances in Ajo and Clifton in June went well, and the copper strikers enjoyed the play, especially Act II, a lot. In early July, during the first year anniversary of the strike, we were in Clifton again. What was supposed to be a happy occasion, a rally and a picnic, turned into a riot, however, and the Department of Public Safety ended up shooting tear gas into a crowd of protesters. I was there too, and got hit by the tear gas. I had never experienced being tear gassed before, and my eyes were burning so badly, I wanted to gouge them out. I went running through the street in search of water so that I could drench my eyes in it and I finally found a hose and turned the water on full blast, rinsing my eyes out as much as I could. It didn’t help much. The burning in my eyes was an awful sensation, and I’ll never forget how painful it was. I wasn’t even participating in the rock throwing, although some of my friends were.

By September, we had decided to organize a festival called “Bedtime for Bonzo” where we featured a skit called The Beggar and the Beast. We had first performed this skit at Café Ole, and then outdoors at Carrillo Elementary School. I played the role of the beggar and was planning on continuing to play it at the Bedtime for Bonzo program until I injured my foot at Fry’s. I could hardly walk, much less run around on a stage. Someone else in the group ended up playing the part of the beggar.

In November, R.G. Davis, founder of the San Francisco Mime Troupe came to town and did a workshop with the Teatro in November. We were finally getting some professional training, and I learned a great deal in just one day. However, by December I had announced that I was leaving the group. My friends Juan and Teresa had left earlier in the year, and I felt it was time to move on too. I had a great time being a member of the Teatro, and made some lifelong friends along the way, but I needed to get serious about my education. I was so tired of working at Fry’s.

PERSONAL LIFE

My personal life continued to be a drag for most of the year. I dated a woman named Ann for about a month early in the year, but finally just told her I was gay. I just couldn’t stand lying to her any longer. She immediately thought I had given her AIDS, but of course, that wasn’t true because I never caught the virus. It was an awful time to be gay, that’s for sure. Gay men were dying by the thousands and the Reagan administration did absolutely nothing about it. It was tragic. At the gay pride picnic at Himmel Park in June, I ran into my old friend Leonard, who John had introduced me to back in 1979, and he did have the virus. He was one of the first of my friends to catch it. He ended up moving to Bisbee and eventually passed on. Other friends that were around at the time included Lee, Scott, Peter, Tim, Dennis, Frank, Richard, my Fry’s friend Debbie Spedding, and my Teatro friends. I partied some with Richard and we went to several concerts together, but he had become a sports fanatic, and we weren’t as close at this time in our lives as we had been before. I continued to go out a lot and I partied way too much. I was so lonely, and longed to meet someone I could have a steady relationship with. That’s all I wanted. As luck would have it, in December I did end up meeting someone. His name was Brent, and he was a tall blonde guy from Michigan. A woman named Ila Meyer, a lesbian folk singer who I had heard perform at the Shanty, introduced us. Just like that, we started dating and before we knew it, he moved in and we were a couple. Our relationship lasted for six years.

I attended lots of concerts and bought lots of records in 1984. I was lucky to have such a good job and be able to afford it all. Some of the concerts I attended and music I bought are included below. I’ve also included a few other memorable events.

A birthday card from my friends Scott and Penny. I turned 25 on January 15th.

Laura Nyro released this on January 15. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present! What a beautiful recording. The tile cut follows.

In the early 80s, these photos of Laura Nyro used to hang on the wall in my apartment on 7th St. The color photo is from an older magazine. I think it was LIFE or LOOK. Don’t remmber now. The black and white one is from “The Laura Nyro Songbook”.

El Norte, released on 1/27/84. A Gregory Nava production. I saw it when it first premiered in Tucson.

This was released some time in January, 1984. My friend Frank bought it for me when he went to France. It wasn’t available in the U.S. at the time. It went platinum in France. Joan Baez was more popular in Europe than she was here. Me and Bobby McGee follow. Joan had an affair with Kris Kristofferson in the early 70s. It probably contributed to the break up of her marriage to David Harris.

Brian Bromberg and I were in the school orchestra at Mansfeld Jr. High together back in 1972-1973. He and his older brother David both had successful music careers. I forgot I had attended this concert until I found the program recently.

A postcard from my friend Pamela when she went back home to visit her family in Bolivia.

Charlie King has been performing every year in Tucson since the early 80s. I attended many of his shows back then, including this one.

My first ever Los Lobos concert was in many ways the best. It was in a bar with a great party atmosphere.

Los Lobos performed on March 3, 1984 at the Sundance Saloon, a classic 22nd St. dive bar that bit the dust long ago. This would be the first of many, many shows I’ve attended. My favorite rock band! The song Let’s Say Goodnight appeared on the group’s recording, And A Time To Dance.

I attended this concert with my sister Becky. Betty Carter was a living legend, one of the greatest jazz improvisers ever.

While the members of Teatro Libertad spent most of the Spring working on our play La Vida Del Cobre, we found time to perform out in the community. Unfortunately, the manager of the Foothills Mall didn’t like that we were singing pro-union songs, so she stopped the show and had us thrown out. What fun!

This song by the Pointer Sisters was released as a single on 4/11/84. It first appeared on the album Break Out the previous year.

I had just seen Jesse Jackson a few month before this particular visit. I enjoyed his first visit better. It was in a baptist church in Sugarhill and the church ladies were out in full force, and every one of them wore a hat!

Jackson’s campaign was very inspirational, but our country was not quite yet ready for a Black president.

I loved this concert. All the local progressive community and political organizations showed up for it. It was “leftie” heaven. This is where I first heard the tune, “Vamos A Andar” by the great Cuban songwriter Silvio Rodriguez. The writer of the article below didn’t think it was so great.

Grupo Raiz was one of many groups from Chile who performed “la nueva cancion” or new song. Their tune, “Companero” follows.

My only paper this semester was in Sociology 510, Political Sociology, with Professor Doug McAdam. The title of it was “Political Process and the American Indian Movement: A Research Proposal.” I missed the mark, and got a B on it. This would be my last effort at writing anything related to the study of sociology. I soon dropped out of the program.