From Stage 3. Early adolescence – The Thespian at the Oasis

My dropped-out hitchhiking adventure to Dinuba and Dallas was short-lived, and I was soon back at my parents house, preparing to go back to Stanford the following year. To make some money I sold Great Books of the Western World door to door, which is what I was doing in November 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. I clearly remember that we were driving back to the office after a sales outing in a two car caravan. My supervisor Jerry Castellaw,  in the car behind me, pulled up beside me at about 30 miles an hour, rolled down his window, and yelled at me, “Kennedy’s been shot! Turn on your radio!”.

 While at home I also took my first drum lessons, with Art Anton, Alan Goodman, and Philly Joe Jones. Then I enrolled at UCLA for one semester and had a great time taking 5 interesting courses. I also sat under the trees in the grassy area by Bruin Walk (pictured above) and read my paperback of  the Upanishads.