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This is Darryl Lingle working over Easter vacation (April '78) at Tijuana Christian Mission (I don't really remember the name; but it was something like that). Shot on Plus X Pan (old-timers will remember this) bulk-loaded and bought from the student store at Loara HS in Anaheim in '78 for about 75 cents for a 36-shot roll. I took this with my Mamiya 1000TL 35mm SLR with stock 50mm lens, which I bought from my brother in about 1978 for $75 or so and which he got from Bob Stempson in-trade for doing Bob's brakes on his VW bus. I still have the camera and use it from time to time. I used to have a bunch of hummingbird pictures on this site that I shot with this camera/lens in 2001. The camera w/lens goes for about $12 on eBay last time I checked. This camera was almost state-of-the-art back then, since it had a built-in light meter. But the focusing helper (all manual) used the checker-box instead of the split, and the split was what the Pentax K1000 guys had. Those were the super high-tech machines then. There was talk of auto-focusers, but most of us thought that was just Jetsons stuff, like the microwave ovens they showed you at Disneyland's Carousel of Progress. Nobody would really have any of that stuff in our lifetimes anymore than they would have flying cars. People who lived in Calif in '78 will remember this as the pre-Prop13 days. Prop 13 passed in about '77, and '78 was the last year Loara HS had a photo class. They shut down the class, sold off all the equipment and had us all sitting in institutional classes from then on. School went from cutting edge to something reminiscent of those Apple computer ads from the '80s when they had everyone living in that gray Orwellian future. I've got to find those ads on the 'net someday when things are a little slow. Calif went from first to worst in education. Those were Calif's glory days when our governor was dating the hottest number around. (Imagine Gray Davis dating Britney Spears and you will understand how cool Jerry B was.) Maybe Arnold will get elected and bring "cool" back to California. So, back to Darryl, I always think of this guy when I see people with those "WWJD" bracelets. (Hey, those are so '90s; stick them in the time capsule already folks.) There was a time when a lot of my friends thought I was messing up. Of all my friends who were close enough to say something (maybe 15 people, give or take), Darryl was the only one to call me on it. After talking, we figured I was just fine as-is thank-you-very-much, and it was everybody else who was messed up, but the point is that Darryl stepped up. And he wasn't wearing some bracelet and thinking "WWJD" (like those people who don't buy Nike's because some little kid is making them in a sweatshop), he was actually living the thing because he *cared* about *people* (in this case, me). Get a clue folks. Do you seriously think Jesus sat around thinking about global social issues and asking himself "What would Moses do?" I don't think so. I think he just lived the life from the heart. By the way, life got a whole lot easier when D moved to Idaho, and then to Colorado, and was 1,000+ miles away, cause that guy could read me like a book, and he wasn't afraid to let me know what he thought. Here's to you, dude (cue the Bud commercial).
This is Dick Alexander, youth pastor extraordinairre, again in April '78. WWJD? Build a new wing on an orphanage in Tijuana. Classic. Here's a guy who wasn't afraid of asking tough questions (or taking those tough questions from some little smart-ass). Dick was the second anchor-point in my "faith." Dick used to spend Sunday afternoons playing over-the-line with me and Tom Flannery and Rick Berry when we were jr. high punks and talking about Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." Dick was so post-mod, even in '74-'77, but I bet he's never owned up to it. (Jim Connelly, the Anaheim PD rookie who drove the Jeep and taught my 4th grade SS class, was the first "anchor" in my "faith.") Anyway, Dick was probably the quickest mind I ever met prior to walking into Harvard LS. Still in my all-time top-10.
This is Phil Hudson, again working at the Tijuana orphanage in '78. Phil was studying at Fuller TS getting ready to go to Kenya and drink cow's blood mixed with curdled milk. Yum! I later saw Phil and Gwen and asked how he liked the strawberry shakes, and he said he loved them once he got used to them. He said McD's "triple-thick" shakes couldn't touch them. Okay, Phil, I'll take your word on that. Drove up to Phil and Gwen's with Raul Navarette, his cousin Steve Garcia, and our buddy Kevin Huffstedler, one weekend. Raul was a little out-of-focus coming back and the CHP pulled us over. Raul reached under the seat to turn down the 8-track player (Foreigner's new album with "Feels Like the First Time") as the CHPer was walking up to the car. He was all tense and asked what Raul was reaching for under the seat. Raul said he was turning down the 8-track. The CHPer said Raul was swerving (at about 90+ at some points as I recall) but he was probably messing with the radio under the seat, so he said "have a nice day and keep it safe" and went back to his car. CHP used to be so cool. Maybe if Arnold gets in.
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