My parents recently remodeled their 1970's home, removing the formica, shag carpeting, and textured ceilings.
Seeing their modern home made me reflect on my personal history in 1976 when their home was built.
I had just started high school at Palos Verdes High. I was a cross country runner and a geeky engineering type wearing aviator glasses, a shaggy haircut and weighing 120 pounds. This photo is of me, Will Snow (my best friend from high school), and a team of engineers from Rockwell. We had the opportunity to tour the Columbia Space shuttle and explore its engine components as they were being built in Southern California. Will and I stay in touch and he recently completed a 125 mile bicycle ride for Multiple Sclerosis in honor of his first wife and my father. He's a senior engineer at SUN (now Oracle).
To give you a real flavor of the 1970's, take a look at my Prom picture (above), now 30 years old. Hillary Stoltz and I attended the prom in Santa Monica, with me in blue velvet including a frilly 1970's tuxedo shirt. By this time, my haircut was evolving to the short and simple way I wear it today. Hillary went to Georgetown and I went to Stanford. I've not reconnected with her since 1980.
The 1970's were a simpler time - no email, no mobile devices, no global village. The competition to get into college was easier and the pace of life was slower. The economy had its ups and downs, we had gas lines, and we had the disco craze (which I ignored). The folk music was soulful, the living was casual, and the fashions were awful.
It was a generally happy time that prepared me well for the challenges to come.
If any folks from my 1970's past are readers of my blog feel free to comment! I'd welcome an update from any of my high school cohort - Phil Talbert, David Kratz, Adrienne Lee, Hillary Stoltz, Gretchen Zimmerman, or Marcia Rorty.
I enjoyed your reflections. As a suggestion to contact your highschool classmates, Facebook is affectionally know by my highschool classmates as "the highschool reunion we never attended." If you are not already on it, you might want to give it a shot to reconnect with your highschool pals.
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