John Graham:
CLASS OF 1975
Skyline High SchoolClass of 1975
Oakland, CA
John's Story
I keep bumping into pay pages here. I will post some more here when I get a chance. I may join.
David: Leg?????
I think you may be thinking of the day Bob Canto brought a loaded .25 cal pistol to school. I was with Rob Hill and others at the study group at the front of the school before class and Canto walked up to I think it was Bob Black and joking put it up to his side. Bob Black slapped the barrel away and it discharged into a redwood tree. Everyone just kinda stepped back. In those days it was very rare for someone to bring a gun to school. The bell rang and everyone quickly dispersed so as not to be tardy for class.
I was attending a study group behind the backstop just before lunch. Canto showed up and started playing with the gun. The 4 or 5 people that were there (Me too). As I was walking briskly away I heard the gun go off and felt some pain in my foot. Then it got a little strange. I said something like "Duuuuuuuddddeee you shot my foot!" Then the look on Cantos face changed to that of a calf that just found out where veal comes from and if he were to start shooting, my day was going to get worse. He just turned and split. Things got a little strange from there. The cops got there and being the big dummy I was, I told them I didn't know who or why or what. That coupled with the angle of the bullet, and no gun, they had someone with a gun shooting people at random in a very upper class neighborhood. They responded like world war 3 just broke out. My foot had an entry hole in lower rear part of my heel, it came out of my arch and stopped in the front portion of the sole. No bones or anything involved. Just foot fat. It sure smarted the next day. Due to my refusal to cooperate with the Fuzz, a mild graze on my foot became a major police deployment and a huge perimeter to search.
Meanwhile, at th...Expand for more
e "Study Hall" located over the fence and down the hill from the 60 building, Canto and Rob Hill ran into each other and headed to the study hall. Canto does not have a clue that Rob and I are buddies and tells him that the cops are looking for him and gave Rob the gun and a bag of "Study Supplies" for his help.
The next morning the detectives were at my house to arrest me for false info on a police and about 10 other charges. They were really pissed. They arrested Bob Canto the night before and he had rolled over on whole thing including the fact that I was less than truthful about my sworn statement. I felt like the king of Dummies. I mumbled some stuff about being labeled a snitch and getting beat up everyday buy the street gangs of skyline high. I was shaking and crying but I was lacking any tears. In a few minutes they dropped everything and left. I could not believe the lame performance worked. Didn't fool my Mom for a second.
One more little item that only very few people know
about. I met Rob Hill at the park to "study" that afternoon.
He gave me the gun because he really didn't want anything to do with it. This was the first time I had seen the gun up close. It had to have been stolen from to a collection. Detailed carving, mother of pearl grip. It just keeps getting better. Now I am treading then mean streets of Montclair with a hot gun and and a hole in my foot. I sold it to a collector a week or so later for something like $65.
I remember some of the rumors that spawned from "Panic at skyline High. There was no second gunman on the grassy Knoll or the book depository.
I think I might go and cover Robs headstone with peel and stick Rolling Stone lips. He would like that.
That is the story, believe it or not, it's not important
I have to go study now,
JSG
Let us be judged by actions
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