I went to two different High Schools in two different states, so naturally I had two sets of best friends.
I started 9th grade at Rancho High School, in North Las Vegas. Back then there were like 4 groups of people who attended Rancho: Base kids; Hispanics & blacks from North Las Vegas; and Mormons, whose parents seemed to work all the support businesses for the tourism/casino businesses that Las Vegas depends on.
My friends at Rancho primarily came from the base, and were split among kids with officer and enlisted Dads.
Greg Madonna lived two doors over on Hogenmiller Circle, on the other side of Michelle Aiken. Dave Curtiss and Mike McKinney lived down at the other end of Manch Manor - both dads were enlisted. Dave, Greg and I knew each other since the end of 8th grade when we all arrived at Jim Bridger Jr. High about the same time.
Greg was probably the most out-going; very adventurous, and always up to do something somewhere, and at any time. Definitely into the latest fashions, haircuts, glasses, etc. First guy I ever saw wear high wasted bell-bottoms with zippers on each side of the front. His Dad bought him this yellow MG, and we had a blast running around in it.
Dave is the guy I consider my best friend growing up. We had an easy going relationship, and just clicked. He was this quiet Oklahoma boy, and very good looking, so all the girls just gravitated to him. It was very easy being his wingman and just enjoy the groups of people we gravitated in and around. He had a white VW bug, played some sports early on, and then lost interest. Probably the best athlete of all of us.
Mike McKinney was a little tow-headed fireplug of a guy. He wasn’t small, but had a small-man’s chip on his shoulder. Lots of ideas on how things should go, and pretty much was the lead guy whenever we did things all together. Very driven. Ended up a Colonel flying F-16s. We’re facebook friends, but I couldn’t tell you what he does now except work out doing crossfit.
We all started out in 9th grade playing sports for either the base or school. Football, soccer, basketball, baseball. I was doing Boy Scouts and band for a time…We all skied, went camping up in the canyon once or twice, but then as social activities became more important, the organized sports kind of faded for most of them. I couldn’t hang with the football guys as a super skinny 130 lbs, so I switched to the base youth teams. Dave played school soccer for a season, I think.
Mostly, we hung out after school and all summer long, stalking girls in the various housing areas around base. No one had any really serious gf’s until probably 11th grade, though we tried hard!
When I moved to Luke AFB outside Phoenix, we got a house in a nearby planned community called Litchfield Park. It was one of those planned communities started in the ‘50s to support Goodyear Tire employees after the War. We moved in the spring of my Junior year, so the rest of the year was spent pretty much getting to know the lay of the land, how the groups in HS worked, who was in what clique, etc. I gravitated towards the guys in my advanced classes, and the guys on the baseball team as I was able to join the JV team when I arrived. I wasn’t much good, but it was a great way to meet people.
Over the summer I met Don Snyder who was my main friend for the rest of my time in HS. His dad was an F-104 pilot, I think. They were still teaching the Germans to fly them for air defense, and Luke was a training base. Don was tall, dark-haired, quiet, but intense. We clicked immediately. both being AF kids who had moved around a lot and arrived about the same time. I was actually interested in pro-basketball back then, and we had this fun fascination with the Philadelphia Sixers, and Dr. J, Julius Erving. We ‘d play basketball in Don’s driveway a lot.
Don’s buddy was Mike Blake, who’s dad was eventually an F-16 Wing Commander at Hill. Great guy, and another 1959 Academy graduate. Mike was a different guy: kind of socially awkward, but incredibly smart, very dry humor, very sarcastic, a walking library of music and pop culture.
In the spring of my Senior year, the three of us went to a party out by the canals; there was beer and lots of people just sitting around talking in groups, sitting on the hoods of cars, the area lit by headlights. I think Don was seeing a girl named Mary Lukasik by then. She was there with some girlfriends, Polly and Susan, and we started talking to them. Spent the whole evening just chatting. Over the course of the next couple weeks, Mike started going out with Polly, and I started going out with Susan, and that became our main social group for the rest of the year.
We all started out in 9th grade playing sports for either the base or school. Football, soccer, basketball, baseball. I was doing Boy Scouts and band for a time…We all skied, went camping up in the canyon once or twice, but then as social activities became more important, the organized sports kind of faded for most of them. I couldn’t hang with the football guys as a super skinny 130 lbs, so I switched to the base youth teams. Dave played school soccer for a season, I think.
Mostly, we hung out after school and all summer long, stalking girls in the various housing areas around base. No one had any really serious gf’s until probably 11th grade, though we tried hard!
When I moved to Luke AFB outside Phoenix, we got a house in a nearby planned community called Litchfield Park. It was one of those planned communities started in the ‘50s to support Goodyear Tire employees after the War. We moved in the spring of my Junior year, so the rest of the year was spent pretty much getting to know the lay of the land, how the groups in HS worked, who was in what clique, etc. I gravitated towards the guys in my advanced classes, and the guys on the baseball team as I was able to join the JV team when I arrived. I wasn’t much good, but it was a great way to meet people.
Over the summer I met Don Snyder who was my main friend for the rest of my time in HS. His dad was an F-104 pilot, I think. They were still teaching the Germans to fly them for air defense, and Luke was a training base. Don was tall, dark-haired, quiet, but intense. We clicked immediately. both being AF kids who had moved around a lot and arrived about the same time. I was actually interested in pro-basketball back then, and we had this fun fascination with the Philadelphia Sixers, and Dr. J, Julius Erving. We ‘d play basketball in Don’s driveway a lot.
Don’s buddy was Mike Blake, who’s dad was eventually an F-16 Wing Commander at Hill. Great guy, and another 1959 Academy graduate. Mike was a different guy: kind of socially awkward, but incredibly smart, very dry humor, very sarcastic, a walking library of music and pop culture.
In the spring of my Senior year, the three of us went to a party out by the canals; there was beer and lots of people just sitting around talking in groups, sitting on the hoods of cars, the area lit by headlights. I think Don was seeing a girl named Mary Lukasik by then. She was there with some girlfriends, Polly and Susan, and we started talking to them. Spent the whole evening just chatting. Over the course of the next couple weeks, Mike started going out with Polly, and I started going out with Susan, and that became our main social group for the rest of the year.
This is Thanksgiving break of my Freshman year at the Academy. Mike, Don, Polly, me, Susan, Dad, Susan and Sandy
It was a fun couple of months, and those ties we made in just the three months between April and June, last still.
Postscript:
- Dave Curtiss went to school at the University of Reno, became a water chemistry person, and last I heard lives in Knoxville, TN.
- Greg Madonna got his pilot license, but died in a small plane accident in the 90s. Ironically, his dad died in a small plane crash also, just a couple years later.
- Don Snyder got into the AF, probably through NAU’s ROTC program, and became a helicopter pilot. I lost track of him after he left the DC area.
- Mike Blake ended up highly successful in marketing, working for sports teams like the Coyote and Avlanche NHL hockey teams, some Denver botanical garden, and now for a college financial aid company.
- Mary Lukasik became a dentist and married one.
- Polly Pucell became an elementary school teacher, married and has a couple of red-headed kids who look just like her.
- Susan and I lasted about three years long distance, broke up, and when I graduated, I told my college roommate he should look her up at ASU because he was going to pilot training at Williams AFB, just east of Phoenix. They got married about a year later, and at some point he got out and became a HS math teacher, back in the Litchfield Park area.
It was a fun couple of months, and those ties we made in just the three months between April and June, last still.
Postscript:
- Dave Curtiss went to school at the University of Reno, became a water chemistry person, and last I heard lives in Knoxville, TN.
- Greg Madonna got his pilot license, but died in a small plane accident in the 90s. Ironically, his dad died in a small plane crash also, just a couple years later.
- Don Snyder got into the AF, probably through NAU’s ROTC program, and became a helicopter pilot. I lost track of him after he left the DC area.
- Mike Blake ended up highly successful in marketing, working for sports teams like the Coyote and Avlanche NHL hockey teams, some Denver botanical garden, and now for a college financial aid company.
- Mary Lukasik became a dentist and married one.
- Polly Pucell became an elementary school teacher, married and has a couple of red-headed kids who look just like her.
- Susan and I lasted about three years long distance, broke up, and when I graduated, I told my college roommate he should look her up at ASU because he was going to pilot training at Williams AFB, just east of Phoenix. They got married about a year later, and at some point he got out and became a HS math teacher, back in the Litchfield Park area.
No comments:
Post a Comment