After getting out of the Service, I spent the next 3 1/2 years at home in Pleasant Valley, NY. It was probably my most prolific writing period, that is … relative to it’s size.
In the Service, I had taken to numbering my songs in sequence. When I left, I think I was at about number 86. About two-thirds the way through this period, I quit numbering after about the high 200’s. After that, songs and ideas were simply dated.
It was a turbulent time. I was “in love,” I bought a Harley, I took gliding lessons, I broke-up, the company I worked for closed shop (this was the second one to do that), and Minnesota was calling me to work out there.
Unique to this period was that I played my music around. I played for an Arlington High School class (in 1974, I believe). I played several bars. I even had an offer from the head of a local band to join them (which I refused because I wasn’t ready to commit to that). I usually was well received. So, must have been just shyness that kept me from pursuing it in MN.
Also unique to this period was a trip to Boston to talk with a music producer. He wasn’t in (of course I didn’t make an appointment). Plus, just before that, I had bumped into another car and broken my right headlight. So, I drove home in the dark empty handed and barely able to see the road.