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Frank, the Bike Shop, and Me  Frank and Me in the yard behind his apartment on Patterson Alley “ I 'm a business man.” This was how Frank described himself when I met him at a potluck in 1975. He was part of a group of counter-culture friends I hung out with when I lived in Eugene, Oregon. In the counter-culture world this kind of description of oneself would be like someone telling you they favored socialized medicine at a Young Republicans gathering. It certainly made him stand out and while I didn't dismiss him I didn't find myself initially drawn to him either. But Frank and I seemed to get along. We talked easily and, as it turned out, he would become my best friend in Eugene. It turned out Frank and I had a lot of things in common in spite of how he characterized himself. I used to call him my young republican friend, even though Frank was not really one. He, like myself, was not much of a fan of either party. We were what was then referred to as...

From Saruman to Nyshia Nyshia N yshia took more baths in our first six months together than she did in the next six years. Nyshia was my first dog and while I have always loved dogs, I've never been particularly excited about bathing them. We always had dogs growing up, six of them to be exact. Sam, Sport, Penny, Mickey, Gabby, and Mandy. Not all at once of course but rather one at a time. Three of them left us early for various reasons and the other three were with us to the end, or rather their end. I love the way a dog bonds with you, how they are always happy to see you whether you acknowledge them or not. They are the perfect example of unconditional love. One of the very few “bucket list” items I ever had was to have my own dog. I was living in Eugene with the Barrington Gang when I decided to get my first dog. Well, that's not completely accurate as I had a dog briefly with Donna when we were living in Yuba City but she either had or ca...

My Own Curriculum I was attending school at the University of Oregon with the aid of the G.I. Bill and I recently came to the conclusion that teaching was not going to work out for me. I had no clue as to what else I could or wanted to do. I may have become disillusioned with our government but I still wanted to do something where I could feel like I was making a positive difference in the world. I had no idea how or what that could be while making a livable income in the process. I was kinda working on some sort of a degree, but I had not been fully engaged in my studies. Except for that one year at Hudson Valley, I'd never been a great student. If I was interested in something I learned it easily and well, but many of the courses I took or was supposed to take to satisfy the necessary requirements to earn a degree were not very interesting to me. I found myself only putting in enough effort to make sure I passed those classes to keep those G.I. Bill checks rollin...

Baby-Boomers – What Happened? Baby Boomers back in the 60's S ince being discharged from the Air Force I'd been in “hurry-up” mode trying to somehow recapture the time I felt I'd lost. Prior to the military I had been focused on the big political issues of the day, Civil Rights, the draft, and the Vietnam War. While I was in the service I spent all my energy just trying to get through my commitment and I largely did this by withdrawing and forcing myself not to do too much thinking. I just went through the motions just for the day I would get my life back. By now I'd been out of the service for almost 4 years and I had slowed down and stopped chasing lost time. I began to realize that it wasn't just three years I'd lost but I'd also lost a part of myself. I sort of lost my sense of direction, sense of purpose. I no longer had a cause to help define me. The draft was done. The War was over. Civil Rights was complicated. Racism was so e...

A Cross Country Trip – Fire Island and Back to Eugene Thru Canada Beach on Fire Island  It was July and Cyndi and I had arrived at my parents house in Huntington Station on Long Island. Long Island can get quite humid and it can be quite oppressive at times in the summer and it was one of those times. Coming downstairs one morning Cyndi informed me that the humidity was awful and asked how could I live in a place like this? My initial thought was “It's not like I had a choice. Besides, this was all I had ever known and it's not like this all the time.” Cyndi grew up in the Chicago area and they have humidity too, but it does not get as intense as it does on the east coast. What we used to do on days like this was head to the beach. It would be less hot, generally with a breeze, and we could swim. So, we packed up and headed out to the beach. Since we were on an island we had a choice between the north shore beaches or the south shore beaches. I decided t...

Hitching to NY With Cyndi I t was the summer of '75 and Cyndi and I had been traveling across the country with Connie and Andy in their VW micro-bus. Cyndi was now visiting with her parents in Barrington, Illinois and I was visiting with my friends from Valparaiso, Bill and Maryann, who lived in Indiana. Connie and Andy had continued on to Connie's family in New York, out on Long Island. Cyndi and I were going to hitch the rest of the way to my parents' home on Long Island. We all planned to eventually meet back up on Long Island for a return trip to Eugene. I managed to get up to Barrington once during this time to meet Cyndi for a concert. We saw Corky Siegel in a small venue with one of Cyndi's old high school teachers and I think his wife. I can't recall how I got there but I remember the concert well. It was a one man show and Corky delighted the crowd singing and playing harmonica and piano. A few days later Cyndi and I met back up and Bi...

What Will I Be When I Grow Up? Me after shaving my beard I t was 1975. In 1975 Microsoft starts, or rather is trademarked, New York City is bankrupt, Spain's General Francisco Franco dies and a new late night comedy show “Saturday Night Live” debuts with a running gag about Franco's death. Gerald Ford is president, Saigon falls to the North Vietnamese, and Jimmy Hoffa disappears. It's the year of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham join Fleetwood Mac and The Captain and Tennille's “Love Will Keep Us Together” will be Billboard's number one song of the year. Me, I'm living in Eugene, Oregon with my girlfriend Cyndi while attending the University there. The kind of music I'm mostly listening to is Reggae, Blues, singer/songwriter and something called Progressive or Outlaw Country. I was in college with a plan to major in education and become a teacher. I liked working wi...

A Cross Country Trip, Long Hair and an Ashtray Not Welcome in Montana I n the summer of 1975 Cyndi and I decided to take a trip back east together. Our friends Connie and Andy were planning to go back east as well. Andy had a Volkswagen Micro Bus that we could all travel in. Cyndi planned to ride along until Chicago where she would then visit with her parents. I planned to ride into Indiana where I would visit with my friends Bill and Maryann. After that Cyndi and I would meet back up and hitch-hike to New York and visit my family. I don't remember if Cyndi's parents had met me at this juncture but I think they probably knew about me. Cyndi didn't think it was too good of an idea for me to show up with her. She felt the idea of us traveling together would not go over well especially since our plan included hitch-hiking to New York. In New York we were planning to meet back up with Connie and Andy for a return trip to Eugene. I n early June we packed ...

Young and Sure – Laurel Hill 2 I was 25 and had secured the position of Assistant Director for the Laurel Hill Continuing Education Program. It was a big title for a little Work-Study job. I was young and still at the stage where I thought it was important to expressing my feelings about things, solicited or not. I made quick decisions and had no trouble thinking I was right. Looking back at that time, I think of the line “I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now” from the Bob Dylan song “My Back Pages”. I suppose the line may seem rather cryptic but to me it says that there was a time in my youth when I took everything so much more seriously, right and wrong was clear cut, a time when I thought I knew more than I actually did. As I got older I realized that it's not that easy. Life and people are more complicated. It's better to listen more and talk less. I The view can look different from different vantage points. There's much to be gained ...