Reflections from a Sailor and a Scholar

After graduating from Pasco High School, Ken earned a B.A. in sociology from Santa Clara University, which included a research project on juvenile gangs in San Francisco. Later, he earned a master’s from Chapman University and a Ph.D. from Alliant University in counseling psychology. During his education, he was privileged to study under such luminaries in psychology as Rollo May (Love and Will), Victor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning), and Fritz Perl (Gestalt Therapy Verbatim).

Although his first marriage ended in divorce (his wife admitting after twenty years that she loved him but was not in love with him), there was a bright spot: he was blessed with three sons, all college graduates, all married, and all doing well.

Ken and his second wife, Linda, have been married for nineteen years, which has been a much happier choice.

Career

After college, Ken was drafted into the US Air Force and was stationed at the Norton Air Force base in San Bernardino, California. A staff sergeant, Ken worked in administration, primarily testing airmen for promotions.

After his stint with the Air Force, he worked as an associate professor of psychology at San Bernardino Community College, counseling veterans who were returning to begin or continue their college education.

Once he had earned his Ph.D. and was licensed as a psychologist, he resigned from college teaching and counseling to pursue a private practice in individual and family therapy with an emphasis on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the treatment of survivors of violent crimes.

In his counseling, Ken believes that an essential key to good therapy is respecting and understanding the importance of relationships.

Passion

Ken is a passionate sailor. “It’s what I do,” he quips. And he does it in style aboard a thirty-two-foot sailboat that can sleep six. When I asked him why he enjoys sailing so much, he said, “Although it requires your full attention, it is also surprisingly tranquil. You only think about sailing and the safety of the boat and passengers. Then you have the joy of exploring a world that is unknown to those who prefer the shore.

Spirituality

Ken believes in the goodness of humankind, as echoed in The Diary of Anne Frank. Although he respects all dimensions of beliefs, he admits that he does not think much about the question of God’s existence. He recognizes that there are many paths to spiritual enlightenment. He simply follows what he knows and allows the rest to remain a mystery.

During this discussion, he mentioned how much he admired two of our classmates, Ginger Mitchell and Mary Ann Finney, both committed Christians. He said of Ginger, “She is today as she has always been: a good person.” Then he recalled how Mary Ann Finney always greeted him with a smile and a hello at Pasco High School. “Some people impress you for a lifetime,” Ken said. “Those two women had their stamp on me.”

At the end of our conversation, our discussion turned to existentialism, which Ken defined as “making right choices.”

“We don’t live in a world alone,” Ken said. “Everything we do affects everyone else. That’s why we have to be so careful about our choices.”

After an hour-long conversation, I was left feeling that Ken has indeed made the right choices, that his head is centered and his heart is generous. I’m proud that he is one of our classmates. I just wish he were my next-door neighbor; I think there is much he could teach me.