July 24, 1969

My sister, Susan Rae Miller Tweedy, has been having an impact on world events since she was a little girl. In 1971, she spearheaded a successful campaign to overturn a 50-year-old policy at Mary Gage Peterson Elementary in Chicago that prohibited girls from wearing pants to school. She was one of the first women to pump gas and load trucks for UPS in the Windy City. She later became, according to one guidebook, the “doyenne of the Chicago music scene” as the owner of the beloved Lounge Ax rock club with her partner Julia Adams. During the Lounge Ax years, Sue met and married acclaimed singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy and gave birth to two future rock stars of America. Today, among her other prominent contacts, Sue is on a first-name basis with the man who will soon occupy the White House.

President Obama would do well to give my sister a place in his Cabinet for her astute observations of important moments in history. Sue has been reporting on major happenings for as long as I can remember. Responding to a challenge by the late John F. Kennedy, landing men on the moon and safely returning them to Earth was a shining moment for our nation and one of the most remarkable achievements of the twentieth century. For a brief moment, the entire planet was united as all eyes were on the courageous astronauts and the talented NASA scientists who were responsible for Apollo 11. But no reporter captured the gravity of this event with more skill and poignancy than young Susan, writing in her diary 39 years ago today. Here, my friends, ripped from the pages of 11-year-old Susan’s actual diary, is one of the most powerful primary source documents you will ever see:

Walter Cronkite couldn’t have said it better. (And I bet his hair never smelled like a Garden of Earthly Delights like my sister’s Herbal Essenced locks did.)

As I continue to illegally scan my sister’s diaries next month during our trip to Chicago, I will share her insights on other world events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the March on Washington, the Iranian Revolution, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the creation of the Internet. In the meantime, may I suggest that Barack Obama consider Sue and me for top positions in the Bureau of Indian Affairs? As you can see in the photo at left, we have a long history of sensitivity to issues affecting Native Americans. 

Comments

[therapydoc]

I had that headdress. Not too pc anymore! The weather's great. I'll meet you at the pizza shop on Devon and Cal.

[Mark Daniels]

Susan's diary entry reminds me of George III's alleged summary for July 4, 1776: "Nothing important happened today."

Of course, George wouldn't have had the benefit of instantaneous reporting of an important event from a remote outpost which Susan enjoyed.

Thanks so much for your reasoned comments over on my blog, Danny.

Mark

[Sue Katz]

So is political insight and literary talent genetic? May I be you and Sue's sibling please? It's nice to wake up to a giggle, Danny. Thanks.

[Liza Cowan]

Happy Birthday Sue! You've got great perspective.

[Elisabeth]

Mark - Interestingly, Louis XVIth entry in his diary for July 14, 1789 (day of the storming of the Bastille) was "rien" ("nothing.")

Danny - That entry for July 24, 1969 in your sister's diary is absolutely wonderful!
And a belated happy birthday to her!

[Julie Schreiber]

Hi Danny -
It's me your cousin Julie Schreiber in Buffalo Grove. I read your blog and really enjoy all the trips down the familial memory lane! I would love to get in touch with Susie since it turns out our kids are at the same camp together right now. Can you please email her phone # to me so I can call her? Also, send me your email also since I no longer have it and it seems odd to say too much on here. Thanks so very much. PS Your daughter is beautiful.