First Marriage

Alison and I were married on February 20, 1982 at the Bidwell Mansion in Chico.

Larkins and Sugar Bowl

I skied with Joe and Cindy Larkin at Sugar Bowl. It was the first time that I skied with Larkin. It was also my 25th birthday.

Jimmy Buffet's Coconut Telegraph Tour

A group of us saw Jimmy Buffet at Caesars Tahoe. He performed there as part of his Party Time '81/Coconut Telegraph Tour. I was dating Nancy at the time.

Farm Credit

I started working for Farm Credit as a Research Analyst on October 6, 1980. I was a joint employee of the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Sacramento and the Sacramento Bank for Cooperatives.

Gerald Ford as Vice President

For a few hours on July 16, 1980, the Republican National Convention was in a frenzy over rumors that Gerald Ford would join Ronald Reagan on the ticket. When that deal stalled, Reagan called George H. W. Bush at his hotel to offer him the Vice President spot instead. At the time, I was on a fishing trip with my dad in Elko, Nevada on our way to the Ruby Mountains. My dad was extremely excited about the prospect of a Reagan/Ford Republican ticket.

Jimmy Buffet's Volcano Tour

Wallen, Jill, Melissa and I drove to the Berkeley Greek theater to meet a large group. He performed there as part of his Volcano Tour. I can remember Hunter dancing in front of me…

John and Jill Wallen's Wedding

California Farm Bureau Federation

After graduating college on Saturday, I started work the following Monday as a Commodity Specialist in the Commodity Services Division of the California Farm Bureau Federation.

1978 Avenue of the Giants

I ran my first marathon in May of 1978 while I was a junior at UC Davis. It was the Avenue of the Giants. As best as I can remember, my time was four hours and 15 minutes.

1977 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture

• Rocky (Winner)
• ✔ All the President's Men
• Bound for Glory
• Network
• Taxi Driver

Best Actor

• Peter Finch – Network (Winner, posthumous)
• Giancarlo Giannini – Seven Beauties
• William Holden – Network
• Sylvester Stallone – Rocky
• Robert De Niro – Taxi Driver

Best Actress

• Faye Dunaway – Network (Winner)
• Marie-Christine Barrault – Cousin Angélique
• Talia Shire – Rocky
• Sissy Spacek – Carrie
• Liv Ullmann – Face to Face

Best Supporting Actor

• ✔ Jason Robards – All the President's Men (Winner)
• Ned Beatty – Network
• Burgess Meredith – Rocky
• Laurence Olivier – Marathon Man
• Burt Young – Rocky

Best Supporting Actress

• Beatrice Straight – Network (Winner)
• ✔ Jane Alexander – All the President's Men
• Jodie Foster – Taxi Driver
• Lee Grant – Voyage of the Damned
• Piper Laurie – Carrie

Best Director

• John G. Avildsen – Rocky (Winner)
• Ingmar Bergman – Face to Face
• Sidney Lumet – Network
• ✔ Alan J. Pakula – All the President's Men
• Lina Wertmüller – Seven Beauties

Best Adapted Screenplay

• ✔ All the President's Men – William Goldman (Winner)
• Bound for Glory – Robert Getchell
• Fellini's Casanova – Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi
• The Seven-Per-Cent Solution – Nicholas Meyer
• Voyage of the Damned – David Butler and Steve Shagan

Best Original Screenplay

• Network – Paddy Chayefsky (Winner)
• Cousin Angélique – Jean-Charles Tacchella and Danièle Thompson
• Panic in Needle Park – Nancy Dowd
• Rocky – Sylvester Stallone
• Seven Beauties – Lina Wertmüller

Other Year's Oscar Nominations

1976 Long Beach Grand Prix

I attended several days of the 1976 Long Beach Grand Prix, which was officially known as the United States Grand Prix West in Formula One. This was the inaugural Formula One race on the Long Beach street circuit.

The winner of the race was the Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni, driving a Ferrari 312T. He was utterly dominant that weekend, taking pole position, setting the fastest lap, and leading every lap of the race to secure a comfortable victory over his teammate, Niki Lauda.

Snow in Sacramento

In February of 1976, I was a freshman at the University of California at Davis. I was living in an off-campus dorm on Wake Forest Drive.

On February 5, it snowed a couple of inches. I can still remember riding my bike to class and there was blanket of snow on the ground.

Everyone I passed as I rode my bike to class was just in awe. I can remember everyone laughing and smiling as I wound my way across campus.

1974 Oscar Nominations

46th Academy Awards (1974)

Best Picture

• The Sting
• American Graffiti
• Cries and Whispers
• The Exorcist
• A Touch of Class

Best Director

• George Roy Hill – The Sting
• George Lucas – American Graffiti
• Ingmar Bergman – Cries and Whispers
• William Friedkin – The Exorcist
• Bernardo Bertolucci – Last Tango in Paris

Best Actor

• Jack Lemmon – Save the Tiger
• Marlon Brando – Last Tango in Paris
• Jack Nicholson – The Last Detail
• Al Pacino – Serpico
• Robert Redford – The Sting

Best Actress

• Glenda Jackson – A Touch of Class
• Ellen Burstyn – The Exorcist
• Marsha Mason – Cinderella Liberty
• Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were
• Joanne Woodward – Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams

Best Supporting Actor

• John Houseman – The Paper Chase
• Vincent Gardenia – Bang the Drum Slowly
• Jack Gilford – Save the Tiger
• Jason Miller – The Exorcist
• Randy Quaid – The Last Detail

Best Supporting Actress

• Tatum O'Neal – Paper Moon
• Linda Blair – The Exorcist
• Candy Clark – American Graffiti
• Madeline Kahn – Paper Moon
• Sylvia Sidney – Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty
• The Last Detail – Robert Towne
• The Paper Chase – James Bridges
• Paper Moon – Alvin Sargent
• Serpico – Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler

Best Original Screenplay

• The Sting – David S. Ward
• American Graffiti – George Lucas, Gloria Katz, and Willard Huyck
• Cries and Whispers – Ingmar Bergman
• Save the Tiger – Steve Shagan
• A Touch of Class – Melvin Frank and Jack Rose

More Oscar Nominations

Wallens

The Wallens at Wes Collette’s birthday at the Hong Kong Cafe