David Mallet:
CLASS OF 1967
Davis High SchoolClass of 1967
Modesto, CA
University of CaliforniaClass of 1971
Davis, CA
Roosevelt Junior High SchoolClass of 1963
Bellflower, CA
Las Flores Elementary SchoolClass of 1961
Bellflower, CA
Longfellow Elementary SchoolClass of 1961
Riverside, CA
David's Story
I left Modesto after graduation and never looked back. UC Davis, dropped out after a year, sold tacos, drove long haul sheep and cattle truck, worked as a maitre d', got married ... and then law school. I left California for Alaska in 1978, practiced law there for four years, took a sabbatical to work as a motorcycle magazine editor for a couple of years before returning to Alaska to practice criminal defense.
I still practice full time -- get to do it almost completely long distance by phone -- and I divide my time between home in Point Roberts Washington and traveling to play semi-pro poker.
I have very fond memories of good children (and maybe some not quite so good.) Valerie Pinkert, who was fey, sweet and smart. Bill Peck, who could run like no other. Tommy Hampson, Anita Morano, Cathy Dugan ... the Catholic trio. Janice Mansager, who showed me a thing or two. Craig Guptil, my best friend in 8th grade. Leilani Young, remarkably brilliant and brash. Marianne Baker, whose serenity and insights were far beyond her time and my years.
Our teachers are almost all surely dead, but I have always had deep gratitude for three: David Clay, (still alive!) who was instrumental in my getting into law school with miserable grades and not even a year of university; Dorthea Whitney (HIC, HAEC, HOC! HUJUS! HUJUS! HUJUS!) whose brilliance I've yet to see again in anyone (and I hereby formally apologize for stealing the blacklist my freshman year) And finally, Richard Weatherington, (still alive!) whose standards of English excellence forced me to rise above my own modest talents.
There are others. Jennifer Stone and Shari Scearce were astonishingly beautiful girls. Tom Holloway was the Chris Botti of our day. Linda Carmody, Catherine Bunding. I remember all of you well.
I am blessed with an exceptional long term memory. I have distinct recollections of 3rd-5th grades in Riverside California and can remember many of my classmates. Alan 'Lefty' Groves, a remarkable athlete. Kathy Ballard. Judy Scott. Cathy Hamilton. Angelia Leu...Expand for more
ng. Millie Hughes. Pamela Hinkle.
And 6th grade in Bellflower. I best remember all the smart pretty girls there, too.
Today (June 20 2020)? Six and a half years of the perfect marriage with Irena Joy TwoFeathers, and we now have an almost three year old boy, Dakari Nighthawk TwoFeathers. Fatherhood so late in life -- he's a deliciously wanted child -- is both startling and ultimately rewarding. You can never have or give too much love. Yesterday we got his first puppy, a golden doodle named T-Bone TwoFeathers, sweetest puppy on the planet.
My daughter, Jen, just turned 40, is working on my third grand baby boy. A motorhead just like her father -- I tested motorcycles professionally for a couple of years, still have 22 of them in the garage -- she flew commercial jets at age 21, now owns California's largest flight school, flies aerobatics and is one of only 200 Master Certified Flight Instructors in the U.S.
It's been a great life.
--
UPDATE Christmas Eve 2022 ... What a year. Nine years of perfect marriage. Not even a raised voice with each other. Wonderful five year old son.
In late March while asleep, I fell six feet from a raised bunk in my 5th wheel. Concussion. Three broken ribs. Grade 3 shoulder separation. Ouch!
Then in mid-June, a colonoscopy turned up possible cancer. On further tests, definite cancer that 'might' have spread to my liver. More tests. It's Stage 4C.
My wife decided she couldn't handle it. Absconded with our five year old to Las Vegas and went into hiding. Took my pickup truck and two dogs, too.
$20,000 later, my private investigator found them, and a Washington judge returned Dakari, my son, to my custody.
What a year, I tell you. What matters is my boy, of course. Cancer? Well, it's been a good life and with luck and good chemo I'll have another five to eight.
I have very fond thoughts of Modesto and Davis. They're part of that 'I've had a good life.' Good school with good teachers. Wonderful smart friends, especially Jan Mansager and Jim Biewdenweg ... friends to this day.
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![Irena and Dakari heading out in the Green Weenie, a Camaro ZL1 with a 650 horsepower Corvette engine in it. [Note the look of sheer terror on Dakari's face! 'I can't see! I can't see! I don't want to see!']](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cmpb/medium/f/d/3/7/100167349215_1543289391168.jpg)
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