George Vinson:
CLASS OF 1961
Monterey High SchoolClass of 1961
Monterey, CA
University of CaliforniaClass of 1966
Berkeley, CA
George's Story
Thank you Michael Glenn for motivating me to write some bio, even if there's always that danger of seeming too self-obsessed, after I read your welcome, elegant & interesting accounts of meetings with friends.
The first 4th of my life was filled with fear, alienation and depression - a war refugee from Europe, shocked and unable to assimilate the rock-n-roll culture of the 50's, crushed by over-controlling parents, crammed into a geek identity for which straight-A's were demanded and emotions were ignored. I hated high school, guys, and didn't like myself.
The second 4th was still a grind but with some adventure to it. I bumbled through UC Berkeley, immature and clueless, but managed to earn my BA in English. Along the way I attempted suicide by jumping off of Bixby Creek Bridge, but became reconciled to life, partly through LSD experiences and partly through being introduced back toward reality by Buddhism. I bumbled through some non-productive grad study at SF State and was happily rescued by being drafted into the Army. Enlisting the day before my draft date, I spent 2 glorious years serving as a medic in Germany: it was a case of "Please don't throw me in the briar patch!" I wasn't allowed to visit Czechoslovakia, my birthplace, because of the Iron Curtain, but enjoyed traveling all over northern Europe on leave, including a solo weekend drive of 1100 miles to Monaco for the 1969 Grand Prix (my army buddy chickened out at the last moment).
The third 4th consisted of slaving for 31 years as a high school English teacher in a backward, stingy school district in the Central Valley, and marrying and divorcing a highly complex Swedish woman from northern Sweden. Enough said about that. The high point was raising a beautiful, brilliant, morally perfect son, Per Erik. I could write about him forever.
The final 4th part of my life has been attaining ...Expand for more
to an earthly paradise in the form of retirement.
I have unfortunately few friends from the past. I did manage to find John Sarracino from our 1961 class during a web search, and got him to visit from Los Alamos when he came to Livermore for a physicists' conference. He had worked in the Peace Corps in Nepal, but then, in his words, "gone to the dark side," designing smart bombs. Late in life I was shocked to learn that our Japanese-American high school classmates had spent WWII in internment camps; they had been absolutely silent about that! When I taught the autobiog novel "Farewell to Manzanar," I visited the author, Jean Watakushi Houston, in Santa Cruz, and found out what she went through when she finally stopped repressing her memories of her life in a camp. What a serious dialogue we never had with our Japanese-American classmates!
Mike Glenn's story reminded me of a chance meeting with Liz Campos by JC Penneys on Calle Principal about 2 years after we graduated. She was already married and had her 1st child. What a pleasure it was to learn that she has crammed so much experience and professional education into her life and come so far. Way to go, Liz! Ben Martorella has reached out to me in emails. We used to be next-door neighbors, and later for a while he worked in the post office at my almost most-favorite place on earth: Ka'anapali, Maui! Hi, Ben.
Ironically, since my parents died I've re-established contacts with my existing relatives back in the Czech Republic and Russia, reactivated my long-dead Czech speaking and writing, visited all the ones in the CR last December 2007, and nagged them to help me fill in a complete family tree. Very intense and fun visit, freezing air and snow. Call it a hobby - looking backward.
Well, I hope you haven't found this all boring. I know Mike Glenn kept his interesting and short. Best wishes, classmates.
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