Allan (Doug) Gabston-Howell:
CLASS OF 1978
Colton High SchoolClass of 1978
Colton, CA
Allan (Doug)'s Story
' Was working in hospitals when I graduated from Colton High; which is probably why I wasn't around much...always working.
Lots of folks told me that they heard that I'd died...::: shrug :::...I heard the same thing about Snake Pliskin; but the short story is: It was boring so I came back. Definitely more talkative than some of you came to believe.
After my resurrection, I dumped the depressing hospital scene and went "itinerant tech", then hit school again, and again, and again. Got into teaching after tekking started boring me silly.
First marriage didn't last, but was I given custody of the children and we (my second wife and I) educated them properly.
The second marriage is a "lifer." (For those who are hanging-up on my last name, we decided that both of us would do the hyphenated last name thing and just let people mumble about it.)
Anyway, we have 6 children; 4 of whom are adults and 2 left to still launch into college; a couple cats, a turtle and various fish (1 daughter is hers, 2 daughters and a son are mine, 2 daughters are ours...Oh yes...the pets are the kids').
I quit teaching to stay home and take care of the kids (they teach you that a full house beats a straight; however, the fact that a government retirement plan beats a 401K is something you have to learn on your own), after which time, we decided to homeschool our youngest three children. So, being a teacher is still a part of my life; along with shopping, balancing the budget, cleaning house, fixing everything that decides to spontaneously break itself, figuring-out who will eat what and cooking it for them.
Chicken tortilla soup and tamales are pretty high on that list of what everyone will eat; but both are only truly appreciated by the galloping hordes if they're "mad...Expand for more
e from scratch."
Needless to say, I'm not at the center of anybody's stage when it comes to social lives; but I do get involved in a little of this and a bit of that from time to time. Gardening is part of it, cycling is another component, and electronics is still something that I love. Anyone who has known me for any length of time will roll their eyes and tell you that Linux and Open Source is too big a part of my "a little of this and a bit of that", but I feel that I should be MORE involved there.
Never seems to be enough time, though.
The latest "event" in our lives is the relatively sudden need for me to take care of my parents; which involves a lot of travel on a weekly basis. The travel is an opportunity for me to blend my affinity for long-distance cycling with practical necessity...and to "out-green" all those irritating Prius owners out there. (Prius owners detest being out-greened and will try to run you off the road in Green Peace-like retaliation...so, make certain you have rear view mirrors on your road bike, and have a few moves to bust to get you out of their sights.)
Our two youngest daughters travel with me from our residence, in LA County, to stay with me at my folks' place. They help-out quite a bit with the "this-and-that" things which must be done, or to stand-in for me to allow me to take care of a major heavy-lifting project.
My wife, Annie, comes-in from LA to help-out on the weekends. This gives a needed boost to my Mom, who happens to adore Annie.
As far as arrangements go, it suffices to fill the present need, gives the girls time with their grand parents, and generally keeps my branch of the family tree together.
Well...that's what family is all about....being together, working together and helping each other.
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