Rick McGrath:  

Baby boomers got everything new. I was a charter student at Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth in 1960. From there to White Rock's Semiahmoo Senior Secondary, then Courtenay's Senior Secondary and finally back to White Rock. I went to Simon Fraser University in September, 1965 as a Charter Student and soon found myself not in classes, but one of the few oddball students who created The Peak, SFU's student newspaper. For the next year I ignored classes in favour of being a newshound (Sports Editor, actually) and was bounced out in 1967 for bad marks, finding a job at a picket fence manufacturer on Annacis Island -- Clint Sheppard was also there! Fun for a year, but not that much, so I reapplied to SFU, was accepted on probation, and actually went to classes. I was still active in student politics -- hard not to be at SFU in 1968! -- and reduced my Peak writing, but English Lit now turned me on and I graduated in 1970 with an Honours First Class degree. Who knew? I immediately entered the SFU MA program and at the same time was named Entertainment Editor and rock critic at Vancouver's Georgia Straight underground newspaper... more fun as I got to interview many bands & musicians over the next two years, including Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Captain Beefheart, and many more. By 1972 the thought of being as crazy as my university profs put a damper on my enthusiasm fo...Expand for more