Kevin Deneen:  

Hello to Anyone who may remember me, but, lost contact. My story begins in a blue collar neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. The very first place I recall living was my Grandparents home on Liberty Terrace in Buffalo. I next lived in an upstairs flat above a dry cleaners at 1746 Main St. While living there, I attended PS #17 for Kindergarden and 1st grade. Unhappy with my progress in that school, my folks enrolled me at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic grade school (also located on Main St.). Unfortunately, I had to do 1st grade over. Shortly after starting at St Vinnie's, we moved to 27 Orchard Place. This is a small 2 story, 3 bedroom frame home near the corner of Fillmore and Main. My Dad remodeled the attic into a fourth bedroom. The attic then became my space. My fondest childhood memories stem from that location. In 4th grade, I got into a heck of a heap of trouble at St. Vinnie's, so my parents pulled me out and enrolled me in PS #54, also on Main St., but, closer to our home. I got in plenty of trouble there too, but, somehow managed to graduate 8th grade on time. A Catholic priest once told me "Anyone named Kevin is just born into trouble, yet you somehow find ways in which to amplify and broadcast it." Strangely enough, having had a bad experience in Catholic grade school didn't stop me from enrolling in Bishop Fallon Catholic High School. Oddly enough, also located on Main St. Looking back, I find it very weird that every school I attended in Buffalo was located on Main St. And, I've checked, plenty of Buffalo schools are NOT located on Main St. Once in high school, the economy in Buffalo began to shrink. So much so that Dad had to find work elsewhere. At the end of my sophomore year, the family moved to Denver Colorado. Thus began a new phase of my life. In Denver, where I knew not a soul, I retreated inward, becoming just a lump in a desk at South Denver High. One positive aspect is that it wasn't located on Main St.! It's on Louisiana Ave. The family also moved twice while in Denver. First living at 123 Grant Ave, a big, old brick two story and then living on Washington Ave, a single story craftsman style house with a full basement. I spent much of my time in my basement bedroom where I listened to Dad's old Jazz albums from the 40's & 50's. Many hours were spent ruminating on either why it was a good thing to leave Buffalo, or how I would eventually find my way back. I spent just my junior year at South Denver High. Only in the last couple of months did I begin to open up to the other students. Then it all ended once again as Dad's temporary assignment in Denver came to a halt. Dad's priority, as it should be, was to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. So, finding nothing else in Denver, in the summer of '62, we hopped in the family car and headed for Los Angeles, California. Once there Dad found work at Hughes Aircraft in Culver City. We moved to a small residential enclave by the ocean called El Segundo. Here we lived in a single story spanish style stucco house at 409 E. Maple Ave. The weather is wonderful in El Segundo, blessed by ocean breezes, there is no smog and no hot summer days nor cold winter days. Year around average temperature is about 65 deg. This is where I spent my senior year in high school, El Segundo High. Oh, the curse has returned, it's on Main St.! And, so, I graduated with dubious credentials at best in June, 1963. My transcripts from Bishop Fallon had been lost. Denver didn't count my f...Expand for more