an other Acalanes Class of 1970 site .. last edit-update 2012 feb 02

the class of 1970 ..
under the influence ..
of 1% wannabes ..

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this blog
has been viewed in the United States
and in the following countries .. locations

United Kingdom .. Canada ..

Russia .. South Africa ..

Slovenia .. Germany ..

Brazil .. Malta ..

France ..

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the world has changed a lot ..

in over 40 years ..

and it has become more difficult ..

to find what we still have in common ..

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portions of this site

are bitter and disturbing

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it 's important

to try and learn

from unpleasant distressing clashes ..

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as the title of a text book

at Ohlone Community College

in Fremont once said

in 1970

".. Divided We Stand .."

--------------------

".. Carry On .."

opening song

Deja vu (1970)

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a "..holiday.." style writing

by someone else

from way back

but not an alumni

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

go placidly amid the noise and haste
and remember what peace there may be in silence

as far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons

speak your truth quietly and clearly
and listen to others
even the dull and ignorant
they too have their story

avoid loud and aggressive persons
they are vexatious to the spirit

if you compare yourself with others

you may become vain and bitter
for always there will be greater and lesser persons that yourself

enjoy your achievements as well as your plans

keep interested in your own career however humble
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time

exercise caution in your business affairs
for the world is full of trickery

but let not this blind you to what virtue there is
many persons strive for high ideals
and everywhere life is full of heroism

be yourself
especially do not feign affection
neither be cynical about love
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass

take kindly the counsel of the years
gracefully surrendering the things of youth

nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune

but do not distress yourself with dark imaginings
many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness

beyond a wholesome discipline
be gentle with yourself

you are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars

you have a right to be here

and whether of not it is clear to you
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should

therefore be at peace with God
whatever you conceive God to be

and whatever your labor and aspirations
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul

with all its' sham and drudgery and broken dreams
it is still a beautiful world

be cheerful

strive to be happy



desiderata

by
max erhmann 1927

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

looking back musically 40 years
via a previous email

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


four albums from 1970


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

these albums were all released
in the fall of 1970

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tumbleweed connection

elton john

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this was elton's third album

and i think his all time best

previous to this
he had recorded

"empty sky"

kind of a low key art student album

the second one was

"elton john"

this one
had some jazzy schmaltzy arrangements
of his songs

but it sold
and began launching his career

then came "tumbleweed connection"

everything really came together here


country, classical, jazz, rock, folk, blues

and not just track by track

often multiple styles per track

it overall is a very beautiful, poetic, gritty amd powerful album
presented in a story book style fashion

highly recomended

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the next is 11-17-70

with the sucess of the second and third albums
elton started to tour

i heard first hand accounts
of him performing in such out of the way places as
"Homer's Warehouse" in palo alto's "industrial" area
where Jerry Garcia and Merle Saunders would perform

i think what happened
is that with the sucess of the first two albums
with serious studio production
and orchestral accompaniment
the tour backers decided
that they could n't afford to finance an orchestra for a tour

understandable

and decided to have elton go out
as a trio

kind of a standard jazz format

and this be to be an effective compromise and presentation

but they acquired

Dee Murray (electric bass) (not acoustic)

and

Nigel Olsen (drums)

these guys had been playing with

Spencer Davis

(r and b influenced)

elton had previously played with

"Bluesology"

an r and b group

that had backed the Pointer Sistrers
when they went to england

the jazz-classical style arrangements
of the second and third albums
were transformed

into LOUD WILD EXTRAVAGANT PERFORMANCES

along with subdued ballads

audiences were sometimes confused-startled
having anticipated
a more conventional event

the rock crowd started to discover them

it all came to a huge uproarious head

when Doug Weston
booked them into the Troubadour

elton's promoter sensed the buzz
and hired a double decker English style bus
to ride around los angeles

with signs on the side
proclaiming

"ELTON JOHN HAS ARRIVED!!!!"

elton later said in an interview
in Rolling Stone
(when it was a fold over paper)
that he, Dee and Nigel
were so embarassed
they hid under seats in the bus
as it drove through los angeles

when they played at the Troubadour
Odetta is said to have gotten up from her chair
and started dancing in the aisle

when you listen to the recording
you 'll hear the audience progressively go mad with enthusiasm
(which i 'm sure is what happened at the Troubador)

this album was performed-broadcast-recorded live
form a New York City radio station

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the next album
is

~~~~~~~~~~~

Asante

by McCoy Tyner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

for me
this is McCoy's most artistic album

also recorded in new york city
the original album (vinyl)
had four tracks

the cd has other tracks from other albums added

my favorite track is

track 1 "malika"

very exotic, atmospheric, free form, dramatic and humorous

it has an eerie, unsettling opening

which slowly gains momentum

becomes rather menacing

and then breaks into sweeping grand exotic beauty

led by female vocalist "Songai", a new york city school teacher

as she improvises an extened wild and serene duet

with saxophonist Andrew White

i believe
that this track
might have been the inspiration
for Chick Corea's group "Return to Forever"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

album 4

untitled by the Byrds

the main attraction here
is
the surrealistic cover art

and the live version of "Eight Miles High"

the four musicians here are all great

but the guitar solo-battle-flights
with-between Roger McGuinn's soaring searing space-raga rock playing
and Clarence White's country-blues rip and shred are incredible

i did n't discover this album 'til the '80s

but i think it 's the best "looking back at the '60s" jam extravaganza

i 've ever heard

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

reunion or no reunion
you can always
check out
party with

David Martin's House Party ( www.davidmartinshouseparty.com )

"..David Martin.."
is an alumni of acalanes

this band
is
as we used to say
in the '70s

"..bad.."

( which means "..really good..")

500 song plus repertoire

(over 2 and 1/2 times that of the Rolling Stones)

many styles

google "David Martin's House Party"
to see many favorable reviews

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

there are smaller, private reunions
by invitation

ask around

or have your own reunion get together

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

emails to and about
the acalanes class of 1970 40th "..reunion.."

the "..older emails.."

with replies from others

13 "..pages.." down

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in the process
of going through emails
from everyone

and posting the ones
believed
to have a constructive and or revealing value

most baffling
is how one individual in particular
went from being friendly
to rancid and attacking

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

some sections
might be out of chronological sequence
and will be corrected

"..as time goes by.."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

you can keep track of your place
by counting how many times
you hit the "..page down.." key

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in regard to a hate email with an implied threat of physical violence
sent to carl martineau who wanted to attend the reunion

reports
have been filed
with the appropriate law enforcement agencies
regarding birdman52.1@netzero.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Real Estate Class 001" realestateclass@southbell.net

is also being investigated
for association with the above account

it's very likely
that both addresses are "spoofs"
fabricated accounts
since galootus@gmail ( carl martineau ) has been blamed
for massive bogus "remailings"
to the alumni "..reunion.." email list
that occured after Real Estate Class 001
sent out an annonymous email
ostensibly "..encouraging.."
galootus (carl ) ( http://carlworldnow.blogspot.com )
to blog

it is very unlikely
that it is an "..address book based.." virus
as some speculated
since carl
has no acalanes alumni email addresses
placed as contacts in the account

the bogus remailings
are based on original emails sent by carl
and then "spoofed"
remailed with a forged name and return address

also
friends of carl
who were blind ccd
in his original mailings
reported bogus remailings
appearing in their accounts
which is the result
of someone hitting "reply all"
on the original group mailing from carl
but then deleting certain addresses
and then forging "..spoofing.." carl's name and account

the affected domains have been notified
as well as the domain of a suspect

the bogus remailings are traceable

do n't blame carl

all he wanted to do
was reminisce
about attending acalanes
which some people
and one person in particular
found "unacceptable" and intolerable
and
would n't accomodate or tolerate
because he does n't "belong"
to the " Real Esate Class "

see the birdman52.1@netzero.com email slime attack below

there seem to be more objections
from some members
of the alumni email list
about obviously forged "spoofed" remailings
than about birdman52.1@netzero.com 's hate email and implied threat

that is very disappointing commentary
regarding the " Real Estate Class "
and the acalanes class of 1970 alumni in general

ignoring a situation
does n't alway improve it

while the Lafayette Crosses ( http://lafayettecrosses.blogspot.com )
visible from highway 24
may symbolize
a "..liberalization.." of lafayette
to some degree
some or many of the alumni
still have very indifferent or callous social outlooks
to say the least

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

there are sarcastic emails

and then there are lies, hate, slander and filth

like what was sent to me last night [ august 20th ]

it's hard to believe
that an acalanes alumni
would write and send this

is this what the acalanes class of 1970 40th "reunion"
wants to be known for?

those who have corresponded with me
in the "breakaway" group
will probably recognize
who i believe wrote this

carl martineau

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: birdman52.1@netzero.com

Date: Friday, August 20, 2010
Subject: acalanes

To: galootus@gmail.com


Carl

I'm sure everyone (in your mined) lived hearing you latest rant. To me you are the Rush Limbaugh of the democratic party. What exactly is your problem. It is not our fault you were expelled from Acalanes. Are you looking for some kind of hand out? I see that your relatives won't give you one. Your republican mormon cousin Teresa who inherited 4 million wouldn't help with your housing. So you have lived in your van for, what, 20 something years. Doesn't sound like you are such a successful musician now does it. Wouldn't all those famous people you met over the years help you with your housing situation. "am on the road back in my car again off and on for over 20 years." Are you trying to hit up old class mates for a place to sack out?

A reunion is for alumni, alumni are graduates of a school. When you dropped out (or as Mr. Stevens secretary told me) were expelled, you lost that alumni distinction. So why do I have a complaint. Well its because on your hitch hiking trips to Lafayette you were there to sell drugs to my little brother. You probably don't remember because those drugs robbed you of your memory as well as your teeth. (saw you on the video clip). So take your shopping cart and go collect some cans and leave us alone.

By the way, the class of 70 at Acalanes is a very liberal group. Calling us republicans and comparing us to Chaney just doesn't hold water. Your own friends in the music industry (or homeless street friends) even told you that your obsession on politics was getting out of hand.

I never beat you up at Acalanes, but now I wish I had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Carl

....This is hate...specially from someone who decided to jump on the bandwagon....and what I understand, this bandwagon has alot of room for people to jump on...I'm not copying this to anybody...it's just to you....there are way too many of us, who have forgot what we stood for and what we believed in....

[ name withheld for privacy and protection ]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hey Carl,

You shouldn't let people get under your skin! Many of us have enjoyed the random recollections and the social/political commentaries. Though, I suspect that some aren't so entertained by the personal barbs! Ignore 'Birdman,' he's not worth the reaction. Be nice! It's not worth stooping to the level of the ignoramuses of the world. I liked the fact that I haven't sensed anything mean spirited in your meanderings.

By all means be edgy, but Keep it positive!

You do know that not all of us 'Republican-types' are rightwing, insensitive types. Some of us like hearing the full spectrum of perspectives.

Rex Dunn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


thank you rex
you always have a good positive outlook

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

following are sarcastic responses
[ with editorial comment ]
and some tax time speculation
regarding
the acalanes class of 1970
40th
clique corporate style
"reunion"

followed by comments
from others

these were received and or posted
after the birdman52.1@netzero.com
email attack on carl

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waste of your time.
Dumb.
Cliques.
Old smoking jocks with prostate and liver problems and
front body tans.
Women with fake boobs and bleached phony teeth and
liposuction.
Kids in therapy.
Closet souls.
broken
chicken bones
Nope
Not I.

[ though i 'm sure everyone will have teeth real or not ]

[ names withheld for privacy and protection ]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... notice how he used his business address for his
mailing address too. Of course you know he is going to use this event
as a huge tax write-off on his income taxes because he will claim this
was a business expense since he talked business at the reunion. He can
write off the essential value of the house and all the inherent
utilities and gardening costs leading up and immediately following the
thing, as well as the total square footage in his house used during
the actual event... he has no intent of not making this work for him
in some manner. Gracious host my ass...
... I personally think they have gotten away with that shit all their lives
and that's why they are so screwed up now and trying to do the same to
everyone else... not gonna take it anymore!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

comment from a former acalanes teacher
regarding SOME students and their parents

"...rich men's sons..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


THE MORE POSITIVE SECTION

"...the finer things..."

this site
is in the process
of being created
"under construction"

additional postings will be appearing

"...as time goes by..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...starting point...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

here is the link
that started it all

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAD NEWS friday, june 18th, 2010 08:35am
Mr Stevens passed away recently[ june 11th]. Here is a link to his obituary.http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=robert-stevens&pid=143605278


Jim

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

after reading the obituary
i wrote the following
and emailed it out to the class

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

friday, june 18th, 2010 05:34pm
well,

y'all finally got me to respond
to all of these emails
with the departure of mr. stevens.

i was n't quite sure who he was at first

though the name was familiar.

then when i saw the obit photo
and read the article
it all came back like a flood in the mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as some of you know
i never did graduate.

i barely got through the end of my junior year.

by the time fall of '69 came,
i had moved into berkeley
and mr. stevens had allowed me to continue attending acalanes
by commuting on the greyhound bus.

i never cut a class until my senior year.

then it was two classes,
then three.

then a whole morning and or afternoon.
then days and weeks at a time.

finally mr. stevens called the building manager
where i lived in berkeley
and left a message for me to call him.
i did.

the first thing he asked me
after saying "hi carl, how you doing?"
was
"do you want to go to school?"

i said "no."

he then said "well come on in and i 'll get you out."

this is from someone
whom i 'm asuming was a republican
considering his conservative demeanor.

i think the law was
if you 're 16 or older
you are not required to attend school.

i went to his office later
and while he was filling out the paper work
he was talking with the other staff people in the office informally,
matter of factly,
about how his grandfather had dropped out of high school
and then went back in his sixties
to get his high school diploma

and so "carl must have his reasons
for doing what he is doing
because for the most part
he 's been a good student
and i have n't had any problems with him".

it almost seems now
like the whole thing was a dream .

~~~~~~~~~~

then several months later
there was an article in the chronicle sunday punch
about a fellow who had dropped out of high school
because everyone was more interested in grades
than in learning.

i mailed it to him.

i assume he received it.

though i did n't hear from him.

but i 'm sure he appreciated it.

thank you mr. stevens.


carl martineau
berkeley, california

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

then i received the following emails

~~~~~~~~~~

05:41pm

Carl,

I confess I do not remember you but I am moved by your response. Thank you for sending it.

All my best,

Emily Weil

~~~~~~~~~~~

09:23pm

Nice, thanks !

Mary Mount

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

saturday, june 19th 01:47am

Nice, Carl. Very nice. Thanks for your kind words about Mr. Stevens.

Dave [ Wigington ]

~~~~~~

06:28am

Hello and good morning. Mr. Stevens was a good man. I hope his family sees your touching tribute. i will fwd to my brother who is a friend of the youngest Stevens brother. i hope the years have been kind to you.

Annette Portello Ross

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

05:11pm, sunday, june 20th

Carl,

I was moved to read your email - thanks for taking the trouble. I had no idea you had left Acalanes nor that you had done it in this way. I never knew Dean Stevens - only had a similar impression that he was a straight-razor conservative guy. I'm glad that he treated you kindly.

It's interesting how the memory sorts. I have a single clear memory of you and me sitting at lunch one noon hour in the quad speaking Spanish. You had suggested that this would be a good way to use what we were learning, which of course it was. I don't know that we spent much time together otherwise - it's interesting to hear a tiny slice of your experience.

I was one of the students at Acalanes who pushed hard for the grades. Looking back all these years later, I find that I admire those students who marched to a different drummer. I actually felt that way then as well but didn't really act on that emotion and went on to continue my push for self-respect through academic accomplishment - ending up with a Ph.D. in Poli Sci from Berkeley. I don't regret my path, but I do regret not actively embracing people early on who had different priorities. My career has included managing programs for disadvantaged students, and I've gotten a lot of satisfaction from seeing them thrive.

Again, thanks for sharing a portion of your story.

Mark [ Westlye ]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

then monday afternoon
june 21, (dated 3:12 p.m.)
i received this email
(also ccd to jim morel)
in red colored text

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Carl – I am a personal friend of the Stevens family, and I had the honor of being at the funeral and celebration of life afterwards on Saturday. When I received your email on Friday night, I forwarded it to Jim Stevens, my dear friend and the oldest of Bob’s sons. He asked me to read it the next day at the gathering at the family home/ranch in Calistoga. It moved everyone to tears, for oh so many reasons…one being that it was so obviously written from the heart, and another being that even though there were several of those emails sent, this was the most poignant and thoughtful, and appreciative. I do hope that you know how you touched Bob’s family at such an emotional time for all of them, and they thank you for that.

Obviously getting out of school must have been the right choice for you, as you are clearly a remarkable man.

Best Regards, Ginger Raphael

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

needless to say
i was very overwhelmed and touched
by this writing
and the other emails

so i sent out the following next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

monday june 21

THANKS FOR THE LINK
AND REPLIES REGARDING
"SAD NEWS" AND MR STEVENS google "acalanes wiki"
for the wikipedia artcle
with lots of interesting information
about our school.
there are also
multiple listings-categories
for acalanes at youtube.

carl martineau

~~~~~~~

june 23


i 'd like to thank jim
for the link
to mr. stevens obit
and express my appreciation
for the kind words
that several of you sent me
regarding what i wrote.

it 's hard to believe
that so much time
has gone by.

it seems like
you become the person you are in high school
then spend the rest of your life
maintaining, defending, expanding that.

the more time goes by
the more precious that time becomes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

an uncle of mine
who went to school
with my dad at stanford
in the '40s
became a nuclear physicist.

his name was richard helm
he accompanied president ford
in the '70s
to russia
for the SALT talks.)

sometime
in the late '50s, early '60s
he went with other physicists
out to the pacific
(not bikini)
and they detonated
a hydrogen

(not atomic)

bomb.

they literally turned an island
into a cloud of dust.

they were so disturbed
by what they witnessed
that when they returned
they collectively decided
not to do weapons research.

they were all "blacklisted"

and subsequently created "s.l.a.c."

standford linear accelerator"

as opposed to a cyclotton.

at one point
they were going to call it the
"stanford high intensity tube"
'til they realised what the acronym woild be

then in the '80s
reagan offered them
7 billion to do weapons research.

they declined.

kind of odd
when you consider
that stanford is home to the hoover institute
a conserative (hawkish?) think tank.

and that berkeley
the anti war campus
does weapons research
at lawrence livermore.

other odd things i 've noticed
over the years

you can pretty much walk into any uc berkeley campus library
and avail yourself of their books and computers.

do n't try that at stanford.

though you 're welcome to use the practice rooms
at dinkelspiel auditorium
if they 're not reserved.

one time
the coffee house at stanforfd
let me wheel out their upright
to play at a crafts fair.

but forget doing any of the above
musical activities at uc berkeley.

stanford is also very open about letting the public
use their sports recreational facilities
for free.

the conservatve liberal priority contrast is baffling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

in 1969
the chemistry department at uc berkeley
under george pimentel

whose daughters attended acalanes

were in charge of the space probe to mars.

to this day
the most reliable one ever.

the "yardstick"
for measuring other probes.

they were in charge
of actually constructing-building the probe.

these were folks
who wore blue jeans and sneakers to class / work everyday.

they were under the administration / supervision
of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

a bunch of real button down, squeaky tight bureaucrats.

the friction and animosity
between these two
was very intense.

the chemistry department
was in charge
of building
the "clean room"
where the probe was to be constructed.

it had to be "clean" (absolutely sterile)
to insure the integrity
of the probe results.

the construction
had to be documented step by step
with photographs and narative

then assembled into book form
and published.

this was all done to absolute perfection.

but someone on the chemistry department staff
as a joke
took a very popular photographic poster of "Pig Pen"
the organist for the grateful dead
and proped it up
on a piece of cardboard
in the middle of the "clean room"
and took a picture of it
that was so good
it actually looked like
"Pig Pen" was standing there.

this photograph
ended up in the middle
of the documentation

JPL went stark raving nuts

they fired off a letter
to uc berkeley
saying that if the university has a psychiatric ward
it must be the chemistry department

all of this was told to me
by george pimentel's wife (widow)
jeanne pimentel

~~~~~~~~~~~~
june 24th

ALUMNI INQUIRIES

does anyone know
what happened
to Kris Holbrook?

she was in the class of '69.

i run into john jennings
from the same class
time to time on telegraph
and he says that "nancy neighbor" told him
that she died in a hiking accident in the '80s?

the last time i saw her
was in the early '70s
when she was living in santa cruz.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

june 25

all of this
has reminded me of incidents
that happened '67-'75.

these incidents
are not necessarily
in exact chronological order.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i remember going into orinda one time
looking for work.

there was a little coffee shop
over in the village area
called "the Polka Dot Cafe".

i had never been in it before
but thought it was interesting.

as soon as i opened the door
i saw an older fellow
with a crew cut
behind the counter.

my hair was n't that long

kind of shaggy

but i guess the tied dyed style t shirt i was wearing
was too much for him.

he roared bellowed

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!!!"

and i did.

i closed the door and left.

i went to the highway 24 on ramp
to hitch back to berkeley.

right away
an old, round body style mercedes
pulled over.

inside was a guy with shoulder lenth hair.
after what had just happened
i got in.

the car had a really old style
wooden dash board.

and on it
this fellow had put a collage on it.

it had the Beatles, Yellow Submarine
and John Wayne?

this was all
strange commentary
on what had just happened.

the fellow's name
was
Burl Willes

i told him what happened
and he told me
that he was opening a business
in the "Elmwood" section (college & ashby)
of berkeley.

he was opening a travel agency
called "Trips Out Travel".

he was hoping to get
the local bay area rock groups
as his clients.

it was located
on college avenue
north almost a block
just before russell
on the east side of the street.

it later moved
to its' present location
southeast of ashby on college
across from the elmwood theatre.

i worked for him for awhile.

but when i ignored his sexual advances
i got fired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

whereever you go

there is always some requirement of conformity

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


several months later
i stopped by his business
just to say "hi".

i had cut my hair.

he still had shoulder length tresses.

he was very unfriendly.

i felt like
he was silently screaming

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!!!"

~~~~~~~~~

way later
in the '80s
i saw him in a news report on tv
about saving "Ozzie's Fountain".

he had cut his hair.

he practically looked bald.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i think some time after this
i was hitchhiking
from the top of ashby
trying to get out to pleasant hill road.

Ross Valory
class of '67
picked me up.

he was playing with Steve Miller then
but he did n't like it.

was very unhappy.

said "...it was just a job..."

he picked me up another time
from the same spot
and each time
as we approached Caldeott Tunnel
he would say

".. Roll up your window, the tunnel 's a "gas"...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

another time
i was going into the Caffe Mediterraneum ("the Med")
on telegraph

as i went in
i gave a spare changer 25 cents
for a cuppacoffee

can you believe it?

coffee was once 25 cents?

he went in
and got in line for coffee

i went in behind him
but went past him
to get a glass of water
from the fountain
past the counter

i then left "the med"
and walked down telegraph
and then up dwight

i was on the north side of dwight
just past regent
when i had the feeling
that i was being followed

i then heard a voice say

"sir, we 'd like to have a word with you"

i turned around
and there were two OAKLAND cops

not berkeley

one was a mean looking white guy
maybe a southerner

the other was a tall, bespectacled black guy

he looked tough
but relaxed

the white cop
accused me
of buying drugs
from the fellow i gave 25 cents to

i thought this was absolutely ridiculous

but he was very serious about it

i explained what had actually happened

he did n't believe me

this was '69 or '70

i was 17 at the time

berkeley had a law
that if you were under 18
you could be taken in
as a potential runaway

the white cop said
that if i did n't consent to a search of my person for drugs
they would take me in
as a potential runaway

i had nothing to hide
so i agreed

he had me turn my pockets inside out

at that point
a small piece of paper fell to the ground

he picked it up
and began inspecting it

looking for a blotter mark
of lsd

at this point i had to laugh

this was all so prepostrous

i told him he was wasting our time

even his partner was having a hard time
going along with all of this

telling him "come on, let 's go, he 's clean"

but this guy could n't let go

he asked me "where are you going?"

do n't ask me why
but i told him

"i 'm going to Orinda
to my see my psychiatrist"

the way his eyes dialated
i thought he was on lsd

but it seemed to weaken his fixation enough
that the other cop was able
to pull him away
and they left

~~~~~~~~~~~

another time
i was hitchhiking out of san francisco
from fifth
over to berkeley

a fellow in an old pickup truck
pulled over
and asked where i was going

i told him berkeley

and he said "get in"

after crossing the bridge
and going through the toll plaza

(two way at that time, '75)

he remembered
he had to go to oakland

so he pulls over
and lets me out on the shoulder.

great

now what the hell am i supposed to do?

i decide to walk back to the toll plaza
and hitch from there

as i begin walking back
a Highway Patrol car pulls up
and the officer inside
asks me why i 'm there

i explain what happened

"well hell, get in the car
and i 'll give you a lift"

this is n't the only time
that the Highway Patrol
have given me a lift while hitchhiking

he has me sit
in the FRONT seat

we take off

soon we 're on highway 24

now the "fun" begins

on the dashboard
there is a small notepad of paper

it has a logo on it

it 's Porky Pig

in a cop's uniform

and around it
in a circle
in bold type
it says

"Have a Nice Day, Asshole"

i say to him

"i assume
that that is your personal stationairy
and not the department's"

"you got that right" he replies

i then ask him

"why?"

and he replies
"all i do everyday
is deal with assholes"

as he say this
a car goes flying by us
like a jet

he then explodes

"you see, that 's what i 'm talking about"

he puts on the lights and sirens
and now we 're chasing a speeding car

what the hell have i gotten into?

this guy could have commited an armed robbery

now i 'll be in the middle of a shootout

the guy in the car pulls over
somewhere past the broadway turnoff

while the chp officer
is "chewing the guy out"
i get out of the car
and yell to him

"hey thanks a lot for the ride

but i think i 'll walk the rest of it"

which i did


~~~~~~~~~~


in our sophmore year
i was on the cross country team

my hair was kind of "shaggy" then

Coach Eaton kept hassling me about it

i finally got so tired of it
that i shaved my head bald

he never said a word to me
the rest of high school


carl martineau


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Carl, you have the eye of a poet and storyteller. I love these stories.

And you have a great memory too. An entertaining read. Thanks.

Dave [ Wigington ]


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from Dennis Dick:

Keep them coming, I love your memories!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carl-

I'm really enjoying the stream of consciousness.

Lapman (AKA Larry Lapsley)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from scott davis:

Carl,

Ross Valory played for "Journey" with Steve Perry. Funny thing. My wife, from Hanford, Calif., home town of Belinda Quintana-Schonberg, was Steve Perry's girl friend in elementary school. I me Steve at Me-n-Eds in Hanford many years ago. Small World huh?

Scott

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

june 26th ...remembering kris holbrook...

thanks again
for the replies.

i 'm glad you 're all enjoying this.

i still would like to know
more about kris holbrook.

my most important memory of her
was after acalanes.

she moved down to santa cruz
living off of ocean avenue
in the northern part of the town.

the fellow she was living with
she seemed very happy with.

i did n't get to know him,

but she seemed
very much in love with him.

he was kind of a rustic hippie type,

but tough, quiet, stoic.

i had found out were she was living
and hitch hiked down there one day
and showed
unannounced.

she was sitting on her front porch with him
but was happy and touched to see me.

that meant a lot to me.

we visited
and her boyfriend kept a distance
but seemed to understand.

after the sun went down
we went inside
and she fixed up the couch
real nice for me.

the big treat
was the stereo system they had.

at the time
headphones was becoming a real high.

you wanted all that great vibrant music
pouring into your brain.

at the time
i was very captivated obsessed
with the stone's "you ca n't always get what you want".

i was living in berkeley
in the building over larry blake's
"the cambridge".

i had a small studio
on the east side
of the west wing
on the fourth floor
facing south.

i would get up around 11
throw my windows open
and watch telegraph come alive.

down on telegraph
on the west side
near bill's men shop
just north of channing
was some store
and the guy who had it
would put out a large, square,
public address speaker
and play "you ca n't always get what you want".

that track
was such a redemption, release
from all the turmoil then.

so kris and spouse have gone to bed
and the house is very quiet.

they had all their albums
on reel to reel tape.

i was trying to find the track
and instead
had cued up to the preceding track, "monkey man".

all of sudden
i felt like i had fallen
down the musical rabbit hole.

all these wild colors,
sonorities,
rhythyms.

turmoil,
fantasy,
intrigue.

the song was brutal, beautiful.

i was looking back
at what kris had taken me out of
with her simple hospitality.

i listened to it repeatedly

until i finally had to go to sleep.

the next morning
we were saying good bye
enjoying our tacit reconciliation
feeling good about each other.

i left
and walked across town
to the freeway entrance
to highway 17.

there was lots of company.

a bunch of hippies and freaks
all trying to get out of town.

we were there for hours

until some long haired guy
with a truck
had us all pile in.

prior to this
i was sitting
with a couple of scraggly haired characters.

they were telling me
how they had had
a hard time
getting out of the house
for days.

they kept smoking grass.

"hey, you want to see our pipe?"

"sure"

he opens his back pack
and takes out a gas mask.

the filter canister
at the end of a long hose
had the filter portion taken out
so that the canister
was one huge pipe bowl

that you could dump an entire bag ("lid") into.

"yeah, i can understand
why it took you so long
to get out here".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carl, I enjoy your journaling, you bring back to mind memories of an era and a lifestyle that seem like a century ago. We grew up in a very interesting time that was kinder and gentler, I frequently wonder what went wrong. Boy, it's been a long time since school.

Thanks for your writings,

John Turver


~~~~~~~~~~~

thank you john

carl

~~~~
june 26th
~~~~~~~

the teachers.

the gods and goddesses
of mount acalanes

~~~~~~~~~~

norman dessler
junior / senior year english teacher
absolutely outrageous
inspiring
his rebellious nature
caught our attention
and interest
and then that is when he taught
from what i heard remember
he had become a passionate devotee of literature
in junior high school
herman melville was his big focus
particularly moby dick
he also said
that all he knew was literature

he used to say
that when he was in college
he had to air mail his math homework
to his brother
'cause he did n't know how to do it
at the beginning of each quarter
he would announce
what was required
to attain an a,b, c, d, or an f
he would then announce
"... i know that some of you
come from wealthy families here in lafayette
and i have to supplement my meager teacher's salary
with a part time job at capwell's
so you tell your parents
that if they want to bribe me
it 's $100 a point
that is an A is $400, a B $300, ..."
this of course
would absolutely outrage some parents
and they would call mr walgren the principal
and complain
and he would call dessler to his office
for "a talk"

afterwards,
dessler would then return to class
and continue doing
whatever the hell he was doing
mr walgren of course
could call back the parents
and say that "...i had a talk with mr dessler..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

another time
dessler told the class about an open house
where some parents came up to him
and said

"...how could you give our son a D?..."

"...well, he ca n't read, write, spell..."

"...well someday he 'll be an important business executive
and he 'll have a secretary to do all of that..."

"...that may very well be true, but right now
he 's in my english class, and i 'm giving him a D..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

if he thought the class was n't paying attention
he would kick over the metal trash can
which made an awful racket
and yell out "...HELLO, HELLO, IS ANYONE THERE?..."

but he was always willing and available
to meet with you
if you needed extra help or attention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

he once told about being at a cocktail party
and he was talking with someone
and all he knew
about that person
was that they were a banker

the banker did n't know
that dessler knew
what he did

the banker asked dessler
what he did for a living
he replied that he was a high school english teacher
the banker replied "...well i 'm sure that is very rewarding personally
but i can 't imagine that it pays much money..."
dessler replied "..you 're absolutely right. i 've always thought
that if i wanted to prositute all my talents into making money
that i 'd go into banking..."
stormin' norman

~~~~~~~~

again,
thanks for all of your positive replies.
if any of you do n't like what i 'm writing
please feel free to let me know

carl martineau
berkeley, california
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

july 07th

BACK TO ACALANES
the teachers
the maestros

Richard Hansen and Leroy Roach
ran the music department(s)

the two large music rooms
for voice and instrumental instruction
had close seperate entrances
and an inter connecting room
just outside
mr Roach's office
and the lone rehearsal room
in the choir room
that mr Hansen used for individual teacher-student conference
a voice evaluation

the big musical technological feature then
was the little micro lever on the record turntable
that raised and lowered
the stereophonic
needle arm

mr Roach
a jazz and classical musician
always left multiple copies
of Downbeat magazine
available
on the table just outside his office
for the students to browse read

i attended a music appreciation class
that mr Roach taught
first period
throughout the sophmore year

( Kris Holbrook was one of the students
that 's where i first met her)

mr Hansen
once told me
off hand
in a brief chat
while he was opening the door
to the choir room
one morning
( i always arrived early
looking forward
to mr Roach's class)
that the class mr Roach was teaching
was college level
not high school

there was nothing difficult about it though
because it was so fascinating and interesting
during a time
that music was a very powerful force
for cultural and social change

all the students
at one point
had to give a report
essentially teach class
on a composer of their choice

i chose Bach

loved and revered
by jazz, rock and classical musicians alike
and a very appropriate figure
for the 1967/1968
school year

another time
when mr Roach was talking to the class about
contrasting conflicting musical styles
he alluded quoted
from a passage i had written
in a class essay assignment

i was very touched by that

i was in the class
as he spoke

there was also much fun
creativity and experimentation

like
when he had all of the students
regardless of whether they were musicians
choose any instrument
in the band (class) room
and improvise
anything
simultaneously

it was a boisterous riot

of fun, sound, and chaotic noise

and class credit (and status) as well

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in the latter part of the school year

and i believe it was the day of
or just after
Robert Kennendy's assasination
(or Martin Luther King's)
(they 're both synonymous for me)
mr Roach came to class
in the most serious mood
i had ever seen him in

he was bitter and very angry
about the violence and alienation
that was descending on the country

he spoke about it for the entire class period

we students said nothing

we listened for the entire period

i do n't remember
exactly what he said

just the above description
of the overall tone and subject

but it is the only time
i ever saw a teacher
or anyone
open their very personal mind
and share their innermost thoughts
about life, society and being a part of it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the following year
i took mr Hansen's choir class

mr Hansen
was socially much more reserved that mr Roach

(and definitely more than mr Dessler)

he had a restrained
very thoughtful demeanor

always careful and eloquent
about whatever he spoke about

choosing his words carefully

and as much as mr Dessler was admired
for being so bombastic and entertaining
and mr Roach
for his verve and intensity

the students admired mr Hansen
for his understated eloquence

i remember being in the voice evaluation room
one time
with mr Hansen
and really experiencing this persona

feeling very close to it

in a way
that one could n't
when one would see him
talking in front of the class

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i know that mr Hansen's class
was even more important to many students
than mr Roach's
because
where it can be very difficult
to learn and master a musical instrument
and perform in a group
there was always room in mr Hansen's choir
for another voice
regardless of your abilities
and a musical place to be

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mr Hansen and mr Roach
were opposite musically
and in personality

but they had great mutual respect for
and cooperation with
each other

and great love and commitment
for teaching music to us all


carl martineau
berkeley, california

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi.

Thanks for another good one. Bringing back memories. Maybe I am
incorrect, but I remember that the seniors had stolen the flagpole. It
appeared up on the hill with a peace sign flag the day Bobby Kennedy
was killed.

One of my first years teaching I went to a 6th grade camp. One of the
staff members could really sing, along with other talented support. Her
big number was "All Gods Critters" Regardless of each of our personal
religious beliefs, it is easy to tune into the idea that everyone has
a place and a contribution. You really touched on that.

Then the mention of Bach. That takes me back to seeing Virgil Fox. John
Marchant and I are actually to be heard on one of his albums going
"woo" prior to one of the tunes."Ah Bach!"

Thanks, Lee [ Cyr ]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Scott Davis responds:

And one time at band camp

Reading your stories is
like a car accident.

You don't want to see the gore,
but you just have to look.

You stated early in this saga
that you dropped out of school.

As an educator for 32 years
I note a conflict.

Most drop outs don't want to be
reminded of the pain school caused them.
which is why they dropped out
in the first place.
Usually it is a dislike of their teachers
or students or administrators.

But you obviously show a high regard
and fond memories for both.

Is your ramblings a way to compensate
for dropping out.

Are you trying to prove that you succeeded
despite dropping out.

So why did you drop out.

Was it because your family moved to Berkeley?

Did you refuse to attend Berkeley High with "Minorities"

after all, the reason most of our Lafayette Parents
ended up where we grew up was
white flight from the minorities in Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, etc.

How is it that you have such vivid memories of Acalanes

I and most of my classmates could not possibly remember
the locker combination we used for 4 years.
let alone the locker number.

Yet you vividly remember the trees outside the windows
and 40+ year old conversations.

Are these just stories from your imagination?

Are you trying to prove that you were a better
Don than the rest of us?

Did someone in our class hurt you in some way?

Is this some type of "Christmas" brag letter?

Are you now famous in some way
that we are not aware?

I must say
your ramblings have been
entertaining.

If you have a few hundred hours
I can brag about myself.


[ no signature]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

july 08th

Well, here it is, Carl...gee, maybe it's best not to fool with a women
of my age group; we simply don't care if narrow and ignorant people
are put in their place....donna

[ to scott davis ]

Clearly this is why the quality of our education has become what it
is; self-centered and navel gazing; with absolutely no creativity or
imagination. What a nasty, snide, and odious comment. I am deeply
offended that someones memories and experiences of a time that we all
experienced has been so outrageously attacked. I am beyond grateful
that none of my children had the questionable 'opportunity' to receive
any part of their education from such a small and negative mind.

Donna Penman