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The
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Remembrances |
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This page is my
"Whatever Happened to Good Ol' What's-His-Name?" page.
It's primarily for those who knew me in times past, but those of you who
don't know me may find it at least a curiosity to see who I was back
then. I think everyone enjoys a look at the way we were, and so
I'm offering this gallery of pics of me at various stages.
Below the photos, you'll find a review of events in chronological order
dating from when I left home for the first time. |
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The Baby |
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The Little Boy |
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The High Schooler |
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The Student |
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Circa
1951
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Circa
1958
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1968
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Christmas,
1970
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With
Grampa at the Fair |
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On Aunt
Pidy's Couch |
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Nix the
Glasses, Nerdface |
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Get a
Haircut, Freak! |
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The Soldier |
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The Director |
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The Gardener |
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The Middleager |
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1973
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1982
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Circa,
1992
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2001
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In South
Korea |
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Directing
"Dial M for Murder" |
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In My Garden |
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You've Come a
Long Way, Baby |
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I
will always remember my undergraduate years with a great deal of
fondness, both for the many fun times with friends and the
enjoyment of working with the Theatre Department at UWSP.
These were the days of staying up until 4:00 a.m.
shooting the breeze and then heading out to class at 7:00 a.m.
in a daze. It was
an intense time to be young and in school.
I became increasingly political, opposing the war and the
draft, all the while knowing that I was heading into the
military after graduation.
The year 1972 was one of the most turbulent times of my
life, with graduation nearing and my deferment ending.
It would be a year of enormous personal change.
The photo at the left was taken two days before I left
for basic training. It
may look like just a ‘60’s kid with a bad haircut.
But, it captured me as I was during these heady years:
rebellious, unfettered, adventurous…looking for change,
in short, the way life often is when we are twenty-two years
old. |
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1972
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I
was looking for adventure, but I don’t think this is what I
had in mind! Three
words: scared to death! That’s
how I felt when I stepped off the bus at Ft. Leonard Wood,
Missouri, and met a real life drill instructor for the first
time. I would
endure basic, and I would move on to advanced training as a
surveyor at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.
From there, I would be sent to Camp Colbern, a small Hawk
missile battery southeast of Seoul, South Korea, for a year.
Along the way, I would form some of the closest
friendships of my life. I
would soon realize the necessity of deflecting the military bs,
and that the times spent with buddies - and, oh, man, were there
some times! - and others were what was most enduring.
These were good and bad times.
The initial shock of separation from family and culture
when sent 10,000 miles away was very difficult, but I was happy
to have experienced life in South Korea.
Upon my return home, after a few months of passing time
at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, I would end my military career in
September, 1974. |
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The
70’s!: disco, the
Arab oil embargo, bad clothes, Mary Tyler Moore, M.A.S.H!
I found myself in Minneapolis in grad school at the
University of Minnesota trying to find myself…and never really
succeeding. In
retrospect, my two years at Minnesota were unfocused and not
satisfying. My
fondest memories are of a great teacher of Ibsen and Strindberg
in the Scandinavian Department and my long days sunning at one
of the nearby lakes. I
would earn my MFA and leave the Twin Cities in 1977.
In
1978, I came to Madison to work for a special project of the
state arts agency; and, like so many others, I fell in love with
the place and stayed.
Here was a small city with lakes and beaches, bike
routes, a great university, athletic events, and fabulous
summers.
Unfortunately, I would soon discover that Madison was not
a theatre mecca, and my career dreams would change greatly. |
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"Peugie"
Today |
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For
six years in the ’80s, I would manage a small professional
touring children’s theatre company.
Along with an extremely talented artistic director, we
would build the theatre to a yearly season of 300 cutting edge
quality performances in states from North Dakota to Illinois.
And, Madison’s arts community would barely notice us.
In 1982, I directed my last play.
I was simply unhappy with it all.
In 1987, I would be hired to manage a small modern dance
company and its school. Three years later, tired of fundraising and feeling greatly
like a fish out of water, I would leave my work in the arts and
never return.
On happier notes,
these were the years I first discovered Department56 and
collecting. And,
also, in 1980, for my birthday, I bought an orange Peugeot
racing bike, never realizing what a great companion it would be.
Most of the bike’s original parts are still intact, and
it is very much rideable today.
It squeaks and groans, especially on hills, but, then
again, so does its owner!
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In
1991, after several months of unemployment and near desperation,
I was hired to the job I still have today.
It’s an administrative position with an organization
that serves the needs of older people.
It is an agency with a heart.
We do important work for a particularly vulnerable
population.
These seemed to be years when time sped up.
Hours at the beach, evening bike rides, the fall and
winter UW sports activities, my days in the garden, all seemed
to fly by. I became
a total UW sports junkie and, rightly so, as the UW won three
Rose Bowls, a Heisman Trophy, went to the Final Four, and was a
dominant hockey and volleyball program.
(Some of this occurred after 1999.)
On December 31, 1999, I would join thousands of revelers
on the rooftop of the Monona Terrace Convention Center to watch
the fireworks and to pass on with them into a new millennium.
The ‘90s would go by much too quickly!
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So,
here I am, 59 years old…and ready for the downhill plunge?
I don’t think so!
My life is dominated by what you will find in the pages
of this web site:
my garden, my collectibles and the writing I've been
doing.
I still spend hours riding my bike in warm weather.
In the winter, I venture over for basketball and hockey games at the UW, where I
am an enthusiastic season ticket holder in four sports.
Here’s a shock for those who knew me in high school:
I no longer play golf and have not even hit a ball in
twelve years!
From
time to time, I think of all the people who have come into and
gone out of my life or are still a part of it today.
I miss many of you whom I haven’t seen for so long.
I thought I’d end by naming you (excluding family) in a
kind of chronological order post high school, including some who
I know are no longer living.
Thanks for many fond remembrances to:
Steve L., Danny N., Jim R., Ginny S., Ross S., Bob B.,
Frieda B., Alice P.F., Seldon F., Tony S., Annette S., Roger S.,
Stan K., Chuck Lorna and little Chris W., Jim C., Mike I.,
Delbert C., Diane D., Jan I., Bob S., Tim C., Goran S., Wes B.,
Stan G., Lynn N., Steve K., Gary H., Pat B., Dennis D., Bill S.,
Bob B., Mary Jane K., Jane E., Chris S., Mike B., Mike T., Ron F., Joyce L.,
Miriam S., Barb D., June O., and Marilyn W.
If
any of you or anyone else who recognizes me discovers this site,
please say hello at the Contact
page.
It would be so great to hear from you!
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