DON DANIEL

After graduation, I went to work for Kruger Roofing. Then, on October 22nd, 1982, I was fatally injured in an auto accident on the road going out to Lake Nahwatzel. OK, so it was only partially fatal, I was lucky. But, in the accident, I was broken up badly, and was told that I would never walk again. I fooled them all and went to school for electronics. Got my ATA in Electronics Technology, June of 1986, and a few months later, went back to roofing. Yea, fell off a roof, etc..., etc... The story goes pretty much the same, from job to job. A few years on a certain job, and eventually my injuries are going to force me to either quit, or get let go for failure to show up to work every day, because of my pain. So, finally, after fighting the pain of working for the past 25 years, I left work early one night, never to return. So here I sit, getting fat and lazy. AHHH, what a life :)

I moved from a small town (Sultan) in 1975. Shelton High had a student body of approximately 1200 at that time. The town I moved from, had a population of 1100+. I was so "lost" and scared when I arrived for my first day, walking into the SUB. Me, a nobody from a little po-dunk town, lost in a sea of locals. As I walked through the lockers of the SUB, I hear an angelic voice ask me my name. I turn to see a very cute young lady, whom I would eventually know as Brenda Rae, and fear shot through me. Why would this cute girl be asking me my name? I'm not sure, but I think I stammered...Don, Don Daniel. Yea, Like I was James friggin Bond or something. She was so "cool" and said, Hi Don, Don Daniel. I don't know why, but as much as Brenda welcomed me to Shelton on my very first day, I never felt like I belonged. So many of my classmates grew up together. I was an outsider. Hell, even after my classmates nominated me to be Paul Bunyan, I still felt like an outsider.
It wasn't until our 30 year reunion that I finally felt like I belonged. Thank You Shelton for accepting me. Look forward to seeing everyone.