What a pleasant surprise to discover that there's going to be a 50th reunion of our class. Looking back, I remember so many things about the school and the class--interesting people, wacky teachers, things learned beyond all expectations. My two short years at W-L opened my eyes to literature, vocabulary, gave me the ability, which has served me well, to stand before large groups of people and speak. I learned about infatuation, love, and reality. I learned that who you are is not only what you have but what you do with it. I learned about the peculiar caste system that existed there and that it really didn't matter outside the building unless you let it.

I walked away from W-L with a firm foundation of learning, had a cache of words which I have used all my life. I learned how to type and how to swim faster than I ever thought possible. I made a couple of friends who brought me great joy over the years.

I walked through my life examining the events which unfolded with a relatively sophisticated eye for judgment and a sense of humor gained from my experiences there.

I passed through alcoholism and deep despair, fathered children, lost them, gained them back, found sobriety, went back to college after several abortive starts and finally got my degrees at the ripe age of fifty. I was able to parlay that education into a position in the government of San Francisco which allowed me to repay some of the help I got from others. I was able to retire, comfortably, at sixty and have spent the last twenty years traveling, photographing, entertaining, loving, and being loved. I have written a childrens story, am working on a novel, and have won awards for my photography. My life has been full and rich and it really all began on Quincy Street in Arlington.