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Joseph Kinley (Kinley)
I've been kicking myself for a few months trying to make it to this reunion despite hating the All Class concept after the 2000 one was a disaster for me. I did make one and Covid screwed up the big one for us all so I was looking forward to seeing everyone this year. Despite high school being the most traumatic 4 years of my life it prepared me for who I am today. I hope to see you all at our 60th, God willing.
I'm on FaceBook and I love seeing classmates, especially the artists I knew back then. If you remember I was a poliitical activist in school and the "No Kings" rally tomorrow is a big part of my absense. I tried to convince my wife Gail to spend the weekend in Venice and go to the rally on Tampa Ave tomorrow but no dice.
So I'll spend the weekend going through this website and my yearbook and opening up old wounds and great memories including when I made Chip Finzer so mad he grabbed me by the neck in Col. Berrisford Walker's PAD class. Good Times!
I was surprised how influential the yearbook has been though the years and what I thought was a small assignment became instrumental in making our yearbook so much better than others I've seen. As a Senior editor, it was my goal to take the Senior class section and make ours the biggest at the expense of the lower classmen. (Sorry, Janice!) I designed the Superlatives photo shoot and provided the captions while secretly hoping I would be voted in for something, anything. Mrs.Sleasman impressed me with her artistry, beauty and working with others. Her impact shows in the photo layouts, using students who weren't part of the elite, and adding white space to make the pictures much more interesting. I insisted on making room for the 2 page topper featuring Mike and Cathy. I also suggested the inside front and back covers since most seniors might not make the yearbook signing party. In hindsght, I wish the colors were more faded for actual writng. But my crowning achievement has to be nominating and promoting the song, "Get Together" by The Youngbloods as our theme song. I didn't rig the voting but I did mention it to everyone sitting on the concrete benches and smoking in the boy's bathroom. I asked the members on my team to take a verse and come up with several ideas for a photo to express it. I remember it being a democratic process with me passing on suggestions to the photographers (Our true heroes in this yearbook!) and asking them to take several shots for us to pick from. And yes, I edited the layout to try and make the impact as strong as possible. As a side note, I ran into Wayne Bourgeois and he reclaimed his real name Joseph Thunderhorse and is an artist in Crystal River.
Imagine my horror when "Get Together" was used in a Luvs diaper commercial!
Yesterday I found this, the reason for this post actually:
What if one song could define a whole generation? Dino Valenti, born Chester William Powers Jr., was best known as the writer of “Get Together,” a song that became a peace anthem during the 1960s. But his life was far more complex than that single hit might suggest.
Dino Valenti passed away in 1994 from complications related to surgery. His influence may not always be front and center in rock history books, but his words—“Come on people now, smile on your brother…”—will never be forgotten.
You might remember me as a damn pot smoking hippie ( I couldn't afford it!) but I was a poet and artist and the idea of sending young men to die scared and afraid defending people who hated us turned my stomach. Now that I'm ancient, give me a gun and food and ammo for 30 days and send me to fight our foes. Pick me up in a month by helicopter and call me a hero or provide for my survivors if I die. It's time to stop wasting our most precious resource- our youth! (Sheepishly gets down from my soapbox and leave you with this:
Smile on your brother and love one another...right now!
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I wish we could find a smaller, more private area....I'll have to work on that!
