THE DECISION

I was never quite sure why I said it, but I remember one day my parents talking about the possibility of moving to Washington D.C.. They asked me if I would mind moving. With no thought at all, I said "sure, why not".

This was one of the first times that I really was held accountable to my words. Later I found that they would have never moved if I had said no. Though, I often wonder what we would have done if we had not. For my father, this job in DC was what he wanted !

I was a Junior in High School, it was 1969, and several of my friends had graduated that year. The school year had ended and I knew I was not coming back, but I really didn't know what that was all about. We had lived in the same city my entire life.

I was active in the band at school. I belonged to the New Generation. I had a steady girl friend. I even had a job. What else could I want?

I believe my quick statement about moving was due to the trend in the 60's to be "cool with everything". How could it matter where I lived? I thought.

THE MOVE

The summer moved on, we started selling everything. I moved in with my girlfriend's family so I could stay in California longer. My father took my truck and trailer and had already left town. Soon, my mother had left as well.  It was fall, and I was a few days from having to leave to enroll for my senior year of high school. It suddenly hit me. I WAS LEAVING CULVER CITY !!!!!

Jeanine, my girlfriend, and her father took me to the airport, I got on the plane and left. I had never been to Maryland before, but I was going there now. Perhaps for good.

There I was, sitting on a plane, my reel to reel tape recorder on the seat next to me and my fishing pole in the overhead compartment.

I remember landing and smelling the humidity. I had a memory of humidity like this from a trip to the south when I was a kid. I never thought of Maryland as being in the south, so I was a bit confused.

CULTURE SHOCK

The first culture shock I remember was that everything was closed. When I arrived, it was raining. This didn't mean much to me as it certainly rained in Los Angeles. What I didn't realize, was that it was going to keep raining all the time.

I had not eaten much on the airplane. It was about 8:00 PM and Mom and Dad had picked me up at Dullas Airport. Dullas was a great place. When you arrived there, they move you around in these huge busses. We rode about 45 minutes to College Park.

MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL IN MARYLAND

I was scheduled to go my new high school the next day.  High Point was the place, in Beltsville Maryland.