October 16, 2020

My '62 Classmate Bill Rainey passed away last Friday while mowing the lawn in the back yard of his home in Burien, Washington.   Bill was a running back on the football team that won the CIF Championship in 1961 and was a record-setting track star.  Bill celebrated his 76th birthday on October 5th at the home of his son Adam, who told his dad he'd be over to mow his lawn on Saturday.  "In typical Pops fashion", said Adam, "he just had to get it done on Friday. Stubbornness will always be one of his lasting traits."  Click HERE to take a look at the wonderful web site that Adam has created for his father.  You can post a memory there.  Click HERE to check out the web page I'm working on that shows articles about Bill from the San Diego Union Sports Pages.  Click HERE to revisit the photo of Bill and some classmates at the Long Bar in Tijuana.

 

Monday's Harry Bliss cartoon struck my funny bone.  I hope no one thinks I'm sneaking in some subliminal political message.

The photo of Joe Biden campaigning in Arizona in front of the state flag this week took me back 30 years to my days in Mission Beach.  Every summer Bill Evans would host the Arizona flag at the Bahia Hotel to welcome the Zonies.  The Vietnam War was raging and someone took Evans to task for hoisting the North Vietnamese flag.  They aren't really that similar, as you can see below, but it made a cute story in Neil Morgan's column.

Let’s go to Luckenbach, Texas

With Waylon and Willie and the boys

This successful life we’re livin’

Got us feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys

Between Hank Williams’ pain songs

and Newberry’s train songs

and Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain

Out in Luckenbach, Texas

ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain

Cappy Paxton '66, in the red bandanna, sent the lyrics to Willie Nelson's song and a nice photo of his friends in front of what used to be the Luckenbach, Texas Post Office.   

The October 13, 1960 Pacer introduced Colts to their new AFS students Nur Karhan, from Turkey, and Paulo Mamede, from Brazil.  Hey, there's Patty Wilkerson again.  Click HERE to read all four pages.

There was talk of Ricksha Boy in earlier emails.  I just found this ad in the September 29, 1961 Pacer.  Burger Chef, at 5125 El Cajon Blvd., preceded Ricksha Boy.

William Reynolds '59 passed away July 27, 2020

Dave Gray ’63 died March 25, 2020.  He was the founder of Huck Fin Environmental Education, teaching kids to get along through fishing. Dave sang Old Shep at a Horace Mann assembly, making him a star with his fellow classmates. He was Vice President of Sky Hunters Raptor Rehab.  He loved going to Padre games, playing his guitar and was part of the music team for our 50th Crawford reunion. He died of leukemia, which he fought for over a good year.  When the corona virus hit we couldn’t even get in to see him -- Nancy Alba Conney ’63