Paul Mallett:  

Hi High Schoolers! Since my days of wandering the hallways, daydreaming the class hours and smoking breaks out front during my senior year my life has taken me thru varied experiences and contrasts of dark times and light. Most of my 4 decades since the hippie days of H S have been spent living in the mountains at Lake Tahoe and the Island of Whidbey. Academically my senior year with you was my best. I went to Shoreline CC but didn't get my bearings till I hopped on a plane to Reno at age 22 and got hired at Harrah's the next day. That was my first time flying, my 1st real job and true independence from my youth. I learned the fine points of craps on swing shift to the sounds of BB Kings' guitar Lucille wailing in the cabaret in front of my table. I transfered to Lake Tahoe 4 years later and spent 2 more years at Harrah's before going across the street to Sahara where Elvis played out his jumpsuit days. after 5 years as a supervisor there and my love life secure with my future wife Alyce we decided to move to Whidbey Island since she was done with casino life and I was bored with skiing at Heavenly valley,riding bicycle and motorcycle during the day or water skiing. I would rather be a failed artist by that time than a successful casino operater and Alyce and I could move to Washington where she'd lived before and we could start a family in the little big house I'd been building. Well, we were unable to conceive so I began a search for my daughter who was adopted with out my knowledge back when I was 20. I found her! It took about 10 years but she had been raised with a brother who was also adopted. She graduated from the U W and seemed to be doing alright although she was unable to manage the complexities broug...Expand for more