Monday, May 31

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May 31, Monday - very quiet day. Marv and Bud worked on bait shop. I ironed a little and that's about all I did do. Marv is so patient with me. I can't stand myself, but he takes everything so well that I'm ashamed of myself.




















Mom continues to do battle with her self-image. Understandable.

You might remember that May 30 was the original date for Memorial Day before it became a three-day weekend with an observed date, the last Monday in May


The old folks called it Decoration Day, and that name had been passed down since the late 1860s, a date to remember the deaths in the American Civil War.

Memorial Day in 1965 wasn't a big deal for most people. They decorated the graves of their loved ones, and paid special attention to the remembrance of fallen soldiers. Retail stores didn't have massive blowout sales, and we city kids knew that summer was right around the corner. 

For me, the big deal was that the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race was held on May 30.

The 1965 500 had a good freshman class, including Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Sr., and Gordon Johncock. A.J. Foyt, was back behind the wheel after a horrific stock car crash at the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside, California.

Rear engine cars were making inroads against the older front-engine Offenhauser roadsters, and Jim Clark of Scotland won the 500 in a rear-engine Ford Lotus. The front-engined cars were definitely living on borrowed time, as were cars fueled by gasoline. The incredible second-lap crash at the 1964 500 made a number of teams turn to methanol or methanol blends, but their performance wasn't good enough to keep up with the high-octane gasoline cars. Eventually, all Indy cars would change to methanol, thus leveling the playing field, and promoting safer racing at Indy.

Jim Clark's Lotus Ford

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Bud and his dad worked on the bait shop, and mom did ironing.