George Markley I just got back from a Colorado River raft trip through the Grand Canyon. I thought I was in shape, but found out the perils of trying to keep up with youngsters on a 63 year old body. I finally gave up and just enjoyed the trip. My brother John was with me--he's 9 years younger, and he had trouble keeping up too, so I don't feel so bad. I'm living back in Tucson, taking care of my widowed mother and my aunt (86 and 95 respectively). I lived in San Francisco for 25 years, during the 60s and 70s and part of the 80s. Yes, I took part in the alternative culture and so could be classed an X- hippy. Then I moved to Sacramento in the late 80s. San Francisco was just getting too expensive, my rent went up from 400 to 1000 dollars after my appartment house was renovated. Tucson sure has changed. The last time I was here was in the early 70s. We moved back here in December 1999 after my Dad died from a brain tumor. I'm a retired house painter. I went to the U of A for two years (music major), but college wasn't for me. Since then I've had many types of jobs, including typrwriter repairman, waiter, spa attentant, etc. I was the total nerd in high school. That started way back in middle school, in then Catalina Jr. High. I doubt if many of the class of 59 will remember me, though I went to school with most of them for seven years. Oh, there were several bullies who tormented me nearly every school day who might. I can remember very few names. In my senior year I hung out with juniors mostly. During my junior year I went to a religious Canadian school, and when I returned to Tucson for my senior year I did very well scholastically, and had an easier time making friends. I'm single, gay, getting heavy, not looking for a relationship. My life is just about as full as I can take. Most of my friends are in San Francisco or Sacramento, though some of the San Franciscans have moved to points north. My best friend now lives on the Big Island in Hawaii. I visit him occasionally, in fact almost moved there before I discovered my folks needed me. I keep in touch via e-mail and the phone. FAMILY: My mom and aunt were born in Sonoita, early in the century. They are the two last remaining out of eight. Their father had homsteaded several hundred acres around the turn of the centry. Their name was Buck. All the kids went to Tucson High, the only high school around at that time. They stayed with relatives or friends, or worked for families who gave them room and board. I have many pictures from that era that I've digitalized and put on CDs. My grandfather worked putting in the roundhouse for the Southern Pacific Railway in Tucson. He was also a fire watcher on Mt. Baldy. Mostly he farmed and ranched. AVOCATIONS: I have sold several photos in UCanBuyArt.com. A recent photo of me can also be found on that site. I correspond with several well know writers via e- mail. I have many interesting (I hope) anecdotes to tell, especially about the Haight in the 60s (ancient history to most people). I was on speaking terms with Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hindrix, Grace Slick, and Jerry Garcia. I like to take pictures, and have done so in Tucson for the last five years. I visited my friends in San Francisco several years ago and took many pictures. I've sold a few of them but am not very agressive when it comes to promoting my work. I love backpacking, and have hiked all over Yosemite and the Sierra Nevadas, the Grand Canyon, and the Trinity Alps (in Northern California). OPINIONS: I'm radical when it comes to politics. Most of my friends are Democrats, and they find me too liberal. Right now my pet peeve is the sore state of health care in our rich nation. It affects me directly, since I can't afford health insurance and won't be covered until 2006 when I reach 65. My second pet peeve is that marajuana is illegal. I don't partake any more, but think it a crime that so many casual users end up in jail with very stiff sentences. If I had my way everthing would be legal and regulated, like in Amsterdam. The reason I no longer use, by the way, is because both Mom and my aunt are fundamentalist Christians, and I respect their feelings about drugs in the house. Also, I can get high without it, having had much practice achieving that state of mind. (See George's photographs for sale at www.ucanbuyart.com) |
CLASS OF |
Catalina High School, Tucson, Arizona, USA |
George Markley I just got back from a Colorado River raft trip through the Grand Canyon. I thought I was in shape, but found out the perils of trying to keep up with youngsters on a 63 year old body. I finally gave up and just enjoyed the trip. My brother John was with me--he's 9 years younger, and he had trouble keeping up too, so I don't feel so bad. I'm living back in Tucson, taking care of my widowed mother and my aunt (86 and 95 respectively). I lived in San Francisco for 25 years, during the 60s and 70s and part of the 80s. Yes, I took part in the alternative culture and so could be classed an X- hippy. Then I moved to Sacramento in the late 80s. San Francisco was just getting too expensive, my rent went up from 400 to 1000 dollars after my appartment house was renovated. Tucson sure has changed. The last time I was here was in the early 70s. We moved back here in December 1999 after my Dad died from a brain tumor. I'm a retired house painter. I went to the U of A for two years (music major), but college wasn't for me. Since then I've had many types of jobs, including typrwriter repairman, waiter, spa attentant, etc. I was the total nerd in high school. That started way back in middle school, in then Catalina Jr. High. I doubt if many of the class of 59 will remember me, though I went to school with most of them for seven years. Oh, there were several bullies who tormented me nearly every school day who might. I can remember very few names. In my senior year I hung out with juniors mostly. During my junior year I went to a religious Canadian school, and when I returned to Tucson for my senior year I did very well scholastically, and had an easier time making friends. I'm single, gay, getting heavy, not looking for a relationship. My life is just about as full as I can take. Most of my friends are in San Francisco or Sacramento, though some of the San Franciscans have moved to points north. My best friend now lives on the Big Island in Hawaii. I visit him occasionally, in fact almost moved there before I discovered my folks needed me. I keep in touch via e-mail and the phone. FAMILY: My mom and aunt were born in Sonoita, early in the century. They are the two last remaining out of eight. Their father had homsteaded several hundred acres around the turn of the centry. Their name was Buck. All the kids went to Tucson High, the only high school around at that time. They stayed with relatives or friends, or worked for families who gave them room and board. I have many pictures from that era that I've digitalized and put on CDs. My grandfather worked putting in the roundhouse for the Southern Pacific Railway in Tucson. He was also a fire watcher on Mt. Baldy. Mostly he farmed and ranched. AVOCATIONS: I have sold several photos in UCanBuyArt.com. A recent photo of me can also be found on that site. I correspond with several well know writers via e- mail. I have many interesting (I hope) anecdotes to tell, especially about the Haight in the 60s (ancient history to most people). I was on speaking terms with Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hindrix, Grace Slick, and Jerry Garcia. I like to take pictures, and have done so in Tucson for the last five years. I visited my friends in San Francisco several years ago and took many pictures. I've sold a few of them but am not very agressive when it comes to promoting my work. I love backpacking, and have hiked all over Yosemite and the Sierra Nevadas, the Grand Canyon, and the Trinity Alps (in Northern California). OPINIONS: I'm radical when it comes to politics. Most of my friends are Democrats, and they find me too liberal. Right now my pet peeve is the sore state of health care in our rich nation. It affects me directly, since I can't afford health insurance and won't be covered until 2006 when I reach 65. My second pet peeve is that marajuana is illegal. I don't partake any more, but think it a crime that so many casual users end up in jail with very stiff sentences. If I had my way everthing would be legal and regulated, like in Amsterdam. The reason I no longer use, by the way, is because both Mom and my aunt are fundamentalist Christians, and I respect their feelings about drugs in the house. Also, I can get high without it, having had much practice achieving that state of mind. (See George's photographs for sale at www.ucanbuyart.com) |
