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There should be more space for this... faces and stories are the most interesting! What can I say? I was eager to get out and explore, so when I was accepted to Humboldt State Univ. in Arcata, California I headed west! Immediately fell in love with the natural landscape: coastal redwood forest, amazing beaches, clean rivers full of trout and salmon! After school started, I joined the hiking club, "Boot & Blister" and began a lifelong love of backpacking, camping, spending time out-of-doors. Loved college. Finally felt confident in myself... not shy like in high school. Those years were good. Made college friends. Summer jobs in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and in Alaska. Heavily involved in Sierra Club and working for expansion of the Redwood Parks. Met my first wife, Sandi, my senior year, and we traveled together to Niger, in West Africa, with the Peace Corps for a fisheries development project on the Niger River.
That was an important event for me... like many people, I thought I knew everything when I came out of college. Living and working in another culture for two years, taught me that a lot of what I thought I knew... what was right & wrong... how to behave... was just the values of my culture. It opened up my mind to the ways that other people see the world, and made me a lot less egotistical and self-righteous. Being in the minority was a big lesson in tolerance and understanding.
Anyway... Sandi and I came back to California... back to our college roots in Arcata and then split after another year together. Sandi emigrated to Israel... I stayed in Arcata. As these things go, I met another woman, Margaret, and married again. I ended up getting a job with the County Office of Education because of my background in science and conservation. They had 3 years of State grant money to develop environmental education curriculum for elementary schools. I had no teaching experience but knew the science, and other people on the staff were experienced teachers, so together we made a good team. During our 3 years we developed a whole curriculum package, worked up a series of day trip sites around the county, started an outdoor school in conjunction with the Redwood National Park, and did teacher training workshops around the county. I found that I really liked teaching and curriculum writing. Also ended up driving the school bus and facilitating all the day trips, as well as being the Director at the Outdoor School. After the end of the 3 year grant, the state government gave us 2 additional years of funding to continue the program and also travel around the state telling other school districts how to follow our model.
Then, just when the grant was concluded and I was cleaning out my desk at the County Schools Office, I was contacted by a private elementary school in the area, and invited to apply for a teaching job! Who me? I had no teaching credential, but, as it turned out, as a private school they didn't require one, and before I knew it, I was the newest teacher on the staff at the Centering School, a private elementary school in Arcata teaching all subjects through the Fine Arts. Being taught to be a classroom teacher by the staff, and of course, by the kids themselves. Boy, did I learn a lot... and fast! Found that I loved kids and teaching... especially at this unique school.
Ended up leaving after a few years to start my own private school, the Gateway Community School, and taught there for nearly 20 years. The school was a parent/teacher coop... kind of small and family-oriented... usually around 50 kids and 3 teachers. During those years, Margaret and I started a serious back-to-the-land, hippie homesteader thing. First we moved out of our rented house in town to 10 acres of land we bought. Built my first house... and a barn, and planted a garden, started an orchard. But water was limited and we couldn't grow as much as we wanted, so after 5 years we sold that place, made a profit, and bought 76 acres further out in the country. Did it all over again. Built a house (bigger) with 60' solar greenhouse, built a barn, put in about 1/2 acre garden, planted 100 fruit trees and dug a pond. We got pregnant, and Megan was born.
3 years later, Margaret and I split up. She kept the country place and I moved into town. Met Fran, and married again. Took a years leave of absence from my school to spend a year in Japan as an English teacher. (I get restless) After 7 years, Fran and I separated.
A couple of years later, I resigned from my work at the school, started building a new house in town in Arcata, and met an extraordinary woman from Brasil, Marie, who is my current wife. We lived together in Arcata for 5 years but the cool, rainy, Redwood forest weather in Arcata was depressing for her, so we sold the house (for a very nice profit) and moved here to San Diego. We are happy and have done well here (I have become addicted to mild sunny warm days... 70 degrees year round and no bugs) I got my General Contractor license and we started a residential remodeling company, CairnsCraft Design & Remodel. Marie got her license as an Interior Design, so we are a very good team... fortunately, since we work and live together 24/7!!
These days, the business continues to grow and prosper. Happy together and enjoying frequent trips to Brazil to spend time with my in-laws. They are a big, loving family who have accepted me as their son, and whom I love very much.
The world has changed so much hasn't it? I have family in Alabama, Washington State, California, and Brazil! My brother, Tim, retired 3 years ago and is now living in DaNang Vietnam... he loves it! He has many friends, motorcycle buddies, and inexpensive living. Globalization! Computers! People living in Space! Cars that drive themselves! What a great show! It will be sad when my turn is over and I have to leave.
Looking forward to reading everyone's stories and making new friends at the reunion. Photos should be a trip too!
