And the party's current despond seemed to enhance the rowdiness in Ames.
For the American people, the astronaut's triumph came as a particularly welcome gift after a year of disruption and despond.
Recall, please, the national mood in the 1970s: after the 1960s party, we found ourselves in a slough of despond, with an oil crisis, a terrible recession, declining productivity .
Mike Wallace in NPR No matter where I was in the United States or abroad,Wallace said, "He would find me and try to talk me out of the slough of despond that I was in."