david williams:
CLASS OF 1979
Upland High SchoolClass of 1979
Upland, CA
david's Story
My parents got divorced early in my high school years, so high school(and jr' high) were a living hell for me. I seemed to be angry all the time. Sorry if I wasn't more friendly. The sting of my parents nasty divorce and being shy was a double whammy. College at Cal Poly was much better and life since has been very good. Something about the freedom of choice as to the direction of my life, has made my post high school life quite satisfying.
Been married 27 years(original spouse), so I suppose I'm beating the odds(and saved a lot of money and grief). Met her during the college years. She was a sweetheart then and still is. I'm so glad we found each other. I still enjoy her company and conversation. 2 kids(girl and a boy). Half empty nester, the other to soon follow. Good kids, couldn't be prouder but most parents say that, don't they.
Started in the Marine Corps, transferred to the Navy. Was a Navy pilot. Retired Navy Reserve. Now a pilot for American Airlines(which recently declared bankruptcy...seems to be the way of the world). Lived Quantico,Va., Pensacola,Fl., Corpus Christi,Tx., SF Bay area, Honolulu,Hi., Adak,Ak., Cubi Pt.,Phillipines, Diego Garcia, Fresno,Ca. and now Vegas. Traveled the Pacific rim a lot, Oman, Hong Kong, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Seychelles(briefly), Brunei, Guam, Japan, Korea, Midway island, Mombasa Kenya...never got to Europe, Antarctica, nor Australia(yet). Still have time.
Had 3 teachers that had a profound change in my life's path(it wasn't going well)...Mr. Warner 5th and 6th grade(Knolls), Mr. Turner(high school aviation ground school and shop) and Mr. Loney(high school math and track/cross country coach). They straightened me out, set me on a better path and I humbly thank them from the bottom of my heart. Was able to thank Mr. Warner this year but understand Mr. Loney passed away so I never got the chance. Bummer. Don't know where Mr. Turner is.
Had a male high school history teacher that taught me 2 things,1.life wasn't fair(so "bend over and take it" was his mantra) and 2.that crappy,incompetent teachers can't teach. What an asshole! The most unfair teacher I've had. Worked my ass off and got an A, but the class and the grade were meaningless. Funny thing is I can't remember his name, nor anything he taught...erased from memory perhaps. His class left me rather bitter.
It is interesting that the most influential(and worst) teachers I've had were male. Perhaps they were who I related best(or least) to. Role models or dirtbags, I guess...Until college, the vast majority of teachers I had were female. I don't have vivid memories of their classes...maybe I was just passing through. I do think high school should have a basic financial education class(es). So many people are clueless about finances: interest rates, mortgages, insurance, credit cards, legal contracts, budgets, etc...I've watched a lot of ...Expand for more
people screw up their lives because they were financially illiterate. It's sad.
Memories of high school: the best were track and cross country. The runs from the high school up to Baldy Village were tough but rewarding. Running through orange groves(and past smudge pots) and up Cucamonga Canyon. Thoroughly enjoyed the freedom of running. In chemistry class, some idiot poured acid on my back. Luckily it was a mild acid and the only damage was a fist size hole in my shirt and burning, itchy skin. Math class with Mr. Gloss and the girls mooning at him around his desk("oh Mr. Gloss" while batting their eyes). Walking past classrooms that had family or friends sitting outside because they had gotten into trouble. Girls who were beautiful but I was shy(relationships never attained). Boy was I stupid! Riding a motorcycle to high school and delivered newspapers(the Daily Report) with it. I loved motorcycles. Got into more trouble when delivering sunday newspapers at 2 a.m. Got asked not to attend honors english class senior year by the teacher because of my smart ass mouth. What a relief that ended up being! Threw an orange at Mr. French(junior year honors english) that splatted on the chalkboard next to his head. It was soon quite fully explained to me that he was not throwing the orange at me but was doing a Kareem Abdul Jabbar skyhook into the trash can next to me that missed. Oops! Used to sneak out of stage crew and eat lunch at instant out burger(arrow and mountain...great burgers) with John Crider. Jumped off the cliffs into the water at the sand and gravel pits, rode motorcycles at the dikes and Cucamonga Canyon, went streaking, kissed a girl, saw a girl naked, learned to scuba, backpacked the Grand Canyon and Mt. Whitney, snow skied at Baldy freshman year(for the first time) and fully humiliated myself, years since were much better, water skied Silverwood Lake a lot, skipped high school graduation and senior yearbook picture because I didn't want to remember it at the time(couldn't wait to get out of there)...all this during the high school years. So not all was bad during this period. A very impressionable time.
Was on the track and cross country teams, wasn't anything special but continued to run my whole life. Starting to slow down now that I've crossed age 50. Can't run as fast or as far but I do shuffle well.
Still can't dance my way out of a paper bag but with a little alcohol, I become fantastically adequate.
My mom passed away 2 years ago(ovarian cancer,age 66). A little early I think. Have seen the occasional death notice of classmates. Way too early! I suppose that's our life cycle. Are we in the downhill part? Yikes!
It's been an interesting ride. Curious at what's to come next. casualman50(at)yahoo(dot)com...drop me a line...dave If I was a jerk in school, forgive me. No excuse but it was a very bad time.(posted 8/2011)
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