Eric Carlson:
CLASS OF 1974
Cupertino High SchoolClass of 1974
Cupertino, CA
Hyde Junior High SchoolClass of 1970
Cupertino, CA
Doyle SchoolClass of 1968
Cupertino, CA
Cecil Elementary SchoolClass of 1966
Cecil, PA
Heidelberg Elementary SchoolClass of 1962
Carnegie, PA
Eric's Story
After graduating from Cupertino High School in 1974, I went straight to college. I liked the college life - both the learning part and the social aspect - so I hung around long enough to end up with a Master of Engineering degree, which I got from UC Davis. Then I figured I needed to enter the real world of paying taxes and going into debt.
Following that, I worked a couple of years for the State of California in Sacramento. I moved back down here in the mid 80's to help out my family after my father had a stroke. Since then, I've worked for several Silicon Valley iconic companies in various capacities: Lockheed, Tandem, HP, and now Apple, where I'm a senior software QA engineer working in iTunes software. (I gradually made the transition from hardware to software over the years.)
No wife or kids, parents are both gone, as is my older sister, and my brother and sister no longer live in this state. So it's just me. I spend a lot of time making the long drive to Reno to visit my sister's family (Cindy, Class of '80, and a member of the CHS Hall of Fame) where I love watching my niece and nephew excel at sports. (They got all the best genes in the family, as did my sister.)
Work takes up a lot of my time (I keep telling people I'm going to cut back on hours, but even I don't believe that anymore), but I manage to go for walks nearly every day to try to stay in shape. (I realize how old I'm getting whenever I need to run across the street when oncoming traffic suddenly appears.) I've been a big Oakland A's fan since I was a kid, and I make it to about one game a month. And I'm good for one or two Sharks games a season too. I also love going to concerts; many of them retro concerts (Paul McCartney, The Police, Elton John, Genesis, Guess Who, Hall and Oates, to name a few), but I also love the classics (Pavarotti, Boston Pops, The Three Tenors, Andrea Bocelli). Best concert of all time for me: Sarah Brightman a few years back at the HP Pavilion. When I'm not doing that, I'm trying to keep my house patched together. A lot of people tell me I'd have a really nice house if I put about half a million dollars into it. (I'm a little short.) And when I run out of energy, there's always my rocker-recliner, PBS and talk radio. I used to be an avid reader, but these days I don't have many brain cells left when I get home from work.
I had a great time at the CHS 50th Anniversary activities in September, 2008. I was never a rah-rah, but from a historical perspective, I was really looking forward to it. My era was well represented, as evidenced by one current student who I overheard say to their friend at the football game, "Why are all t...Expand for more
hese old people here? " I guess either no one told him about the reunion, or if he was like me when I was that age, nothing that happened before he was born was of any importance to him.
For me, high school was band, and the track team, in that order. It was great to see our band director, Mr. Gomez at the 50th Anniversary rally. Hard to believe he remembered my name after all of these years. (Really sad to have to go to his memorial service less than a year later.) Lot's of memories of playing my trumpet at CHS football half-time shows, the Tournament of Roses Parade, Nixon's speech in San Jose (rather infamous), the first Tournament of Bands, and a few 49ers half time shows. It was good to see Mr. Carlstrom (drafting teacher) and Mr. Frost (track coach) too. (Saw them at the football game.) And of course, Mr. Boggie. I loved his history class, being the amateur historian that I am.
I hung out with a group of friends in high school that I thought would be my best friends for life. And now, I'm not even sure where they even live, let alone what/how they're doing. Probably best; they might remind me of something I did way back then that I'd rather forget, which is why I'll never go to any more class reunions. (I went to our 10th, and that was enough.) People tend to regress when they're with acquaintances from the past.
How have I changed the most since high school? Well, I concede that Jimi Hendrix is a much better guitar player than I gave him credit for back then. Seriously, like most people I'd like to go back in time and do some things differently. (Anyone have a time machine?) Even a couple of things done differently would have changed my life's course dramatically. But I am where I am, and I can't really complain. (Well, I don't have good enough reason to.) Like many of you from from my class, I'm trying to figure out when (or if) I can retire someday. Our generation = no pension and no job security.
Yes, I still live in Cupertino. I grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania, and my family moved out here when I was almost ten years old. I finished my Elementary education at Doyle School (my families first house out here was right next to the school), then Hyde Jr High (now Middle School) before continuing to Cupertino High School. I never made the adjustment to the move. I remember sitting in the band room at CHS gazing out the window, telling myself that once I graduated, I was out of here. Now, every day on my way home from work, I have to drive by that same band room. I've come a long way since high school!
That's about it. Oh, did I mention that I'm a cancer survivor?
Update: As of January 31st 2024, I'm retired!
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