Jim Giblin:  

Yeah, I'm the guy who left for California in November, 1957. Our junior year. A few of you gave me a nice send off party, something that brings back fond memories. I have photos of the party. I still remember most of you. The only problem is that most of those memories are of sixteen year old faces. And bodies. But I should add that I did attend one of the earlier reunions, not the picnic one, but maybe the 20th or so, and I had no trouble recognizing classmates...if not by appearance, by simply speaking with you for a few minutes....or even watching mannerisms. Some things never change. I completed high school at another Catholic co-ed school. In Burbank. The school was a good choice since my younger sister could also attend...she had just begun high school at Willys when we moved. The transition was fairly easy but I missed the teachers at Willy's and, on looking back, have often thought we were very lucky to have them. I especially remember Sr. Celeste, Sr. Genevieve, Mr. Rossi and Sr. Priscilla. After high school I was introduced to Northern California where I attended St. Mary's College for two years before transferring to USC where I graduated in zoology in 1963. After a brief stint of active duty in the National Guard I studied law at the University of San Diego, graduating in 1968. While at USC I met Karin while we both worked nights in a local hospital while going to classes during the day. Something seemed to click and I knew from the start that she was the girl I wanted to marry...even though it took a few years. She was attending nearby Immaculate Heart College and graduated in psychology. We finally did marry in 1970 and she gave us 3 beautiful daughters, all of whom are happily pursuing very successful careers: Wendy who graduated from UC Berkeley in rhetoric and is a securities fraud lawyer while working on a doctorate in business at Golden Gate University where she obtained her law and MBA degrees; Maureen, a communications graduate from UCLA. is now making movies for Pixar/Disney in nearby Emeryville, most recently working on the animated film, Ratatouille; and Annie, an outstanding social studies graduate of Humboldt State, who works with Verizon and has completed graduate studies at Sacramento State.. We're very proud of all three. Once the kids finished high school, Karin decided to enter nursing school. She did very well in a class where most students were half her age. She decided to focus on geriatric care and has worked at several convalescent homes. For the last ten years she has been working as a nurse at an adult day care center in El Sobrante. While much of this was happening, I worked as a corporate attorney, mostly in patents and licensing,for USG Corp. (Chicago), then Corning Inc (New York) and finally in Berkeley for Bayer Corp. (formerly Cutter Labs, then Miles Labs) where I managed the Patent and Licensing Department. I retired from Bayer in 2001 after 25 years. The Bayer work gave me many interesting travel opportunities throughout the US. A good part of my time was spent in Washington D.C. Also got to do some foreign travel, mainly Germany, the UK and Canada where we had major litigations. Once in my 40s I decided that fitness was important so I got pretty physical. A lot of hiking and some fairly high altitude climbing. I've done Mt. Shasta five times, Whitney three times, and White Mountain Peak twice, along with some lesser climbs. I've camped at the base of Mt. McKinley but was never able to generate the preparation, guts and stamina needed to try it. I still enjoy the mountains. But in recent years I've found it just as much fun to drive up to fairly high summits like Pike's Peak and Mona Kea, the site of some famous observatories. T...Expand for more