Gerald Gibson:  

(A poem dedicated to our classmates follows my story.) I am a fortunate man. I married a good woman and found the kind of work I do best. The most important thing in Donna and my lives is our three children (Jennifer, Matthew, and Kerri Ann) and eight grandchildren. After serving aboard the USS Hornet, I got a job, while attending Mount San Antonio College, at the Broadway Department Store where I met Donna. We soon got married and afterwards began our family (in the order shown above). Jennifer lives in Colorado with her daughter Megan (now a coach). Matt, a single father, sired three Japanese daughters. The girls (Kira, Mira, and Sara seem like prodigies). I have a photo of Mira and Sara (age seven and five) playing chess. They all learned to speak English playing video games and watching American television. As a teacher and then as a manager of several teachers Matt has done well. Our youngest Kerri Ann, however, has stayed close to us from childhood. Her three sons (Jakob, Clayton, and Micah) are a great blessing. During the corona-virus episode she has taken care of us by bringing us supplies. With my wife's stroke she has once again proven to us that she is a saint. Long before this period, as Donna and I struggled, Donna has proven to be a rock of strength. Her illness has brought us all closer together. When I was working on my degrees at California State University Fullerton, she worked as a banker. I got a job as a graduate assistant and then as a research assistant. Because it was such a hardship on my family, however, I never went for my PhD. I don't regret. With my Naval background, security clearance, and degrees, many door opened up for me, including technical writing in aerospace and private industry, government work, and, when I retired, corporate security. Our home in Anaheim, which overlooked the Santa Ana River, was a great place for the kids to grow up. We had many pets (dogs, cats, ducks, and rabbits). I built an aviary for parrots and parakeets, a fort for Matthew, and a playhouse for Jennifer and Kerri Ann. I also made a train layout and constructed our book shelves. I thought about doing carpentry part time in retirement, but corporate security was much easier. When I had plenty of time on my hands, I learned to play classical music on a piano we had saved up for. It appears that I have a knack for learning the piano. People don't believe you can teach yourself, but I can play complex pieces such as Chopin's Polonaise after only a short while. I also became an amateur paleontologist and have combed the hills in Orange County California and North Texas and found an assortment of marine fossils. In addition to these hobbies,, I continued my woodwork. During this time, I studied hieroglyphs and created a series of inscriptions which I posted on my website.. Lastly and most importantly, I have written several novel...Expand for more