LHHS CLASS OF 1965 SPOTLIGHT
November 2006
Bill Janes
QUESTIONS What do you remember about your last day at LHHS? My wife tells me I can’t remember what happened two hours ago; forty-five years is way beyond my range. What did you do in the summer of ’65? Worked for Allied Van Lines. What did you do the next school year? Fall of ’65, went to the University of Texas in Austin, where I pledged a fraternity then "de" pledged, attended some but missed most classes, hitchhiked back and forth from Austin to Dallas to be with the one I loved, never handed in assignments, wondered around, agonized, and, eventually, flunked out. College? While driving for Allied, working as a garbage man and as assistant night operations manager/janitor, I also attended classes at North Texas, endured sporadic spells of "scholastic probation", developed life-long friendships with Bill Wilson (my history professor) and Jim Baird (my English professor), loved, lost, won, lived, majored in English and History, graduated with a BA in 1971. In 2000, I enrolled at the University of Washington; in 2002, I received a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Washington. (Yep, I was the oldest one.) Were any other Wildcats with you? At UT, my friends Jody Williams and Bryan Surratt were my dorm/housemates. At NTSU, my friend Randy Catterton was near by. At UW, there were lots of great folks, but, to my knowledge, no Wildcats. Military service? In ’67, the big fear around "flunking out" was the draft. My number was called; I reported for the physical, hoping to found both deaf and blind. When the physician told me that the last person with 20/400 vision was now a tank gunner in Vietnam, my heart sank. Then, the he asked if I was under any medication. "Yes. For a thyroid condition." By some quirk, I had a note and the prescription with me; he apparently knew my doctor and, yes, it was legitimate. Ordered into another room, dismissed, re-classified "4F", I had not only flunked out of school, but flunked out of the draft. Back to truck driving. What did you do for a living for the first ten years after LHHS? From 1965-75, I was (1) a truck driver for Allied Van Lines (longest trips: west to Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada & east to New York City, USA; worst experiences: sleeping on top of my trailer in an attempt to escape the heat and mosquitoes in Houston, Texas & sleeping on the safety island between gasoline pumps because I was too exhausted to find a better place in either Newport News or Norfolk, Virginia); (2) a garbage man for the City of Dallas (fun job that kept me in great physical condition, but from which I was eventually fired for missing several days without notifying my supervisor), (3) an "assistant night operations manager and janitor" at Airborne Freight (after routing freight packages, I would stay on and clean all the bathrooms and offices), (4) a management intern at the US Department of Labor (absorbing experiences from the Rio Grande valley to Washington DC Joe Woodard got me on, I think Joe was Karen’s dad. Thank you, Karen), (5) a salesperson then a buyer at Gabbert’s Furniture Studios (Larry Hastings got me on. Thank you, Larry), and (6) an Unemployment Insurance program specialist at the US Department of Labor (sounds boring, but was mind expanding, working with Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas and DC). What did you do for the second ten years? From 1976-86 and on, I worked on lots of projects diagnosing, creating, designing, implementing and evaluating organizations’ systems, processes, skills training, quality, performance, metrics, etc. Some projects were extremely successful; some, less so; all fun, engaging, learning experiences. Over the years, I was a technician, project manager, manager, and Regional Administrator in the Pacific Northwest Region for the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Did you ever get married? More than once? Yes. And, yes. My first wife left me and our two children for a "guru". (She’s since left the ashram and the "guru" for a regular person.) The kids and I took care of one another for a time. Very strange being "Mr Mom" in the early ’80s, but the kids were wonderful, and our friends and neighbors were unbelievably helpful. (Yep, when you’re single, you realize that it really does "take a village to raise a child".) In 1986, Sukey Hepp and I married. Together we built a home, raised the kids and continue to look after each other. Children? Adam (b. 1976) Lauran (b. 1979). Adam graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena CA; Lauran, from the University of Texas in Austin. Adam works in his studio in Los Angeles; has exhibited in LA, Chicago, Austin; has written and illustrated a children’s book (Naptime for Thaddeus) published by Simply Read Books in Vancouver, British Columbia; is anticipating an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2007; has recently sold one of his large drawings to Georges-Phillippe at the gallery Vallois in Paris; his day job is carpentry. Lauran writes (recently, "Bending Light", a short film, and Fighting with Anger, a feature film); acts (appears as the mom in Fighting with Anger [now in production] and starring Willie Nelson), and, again, as the mom in Zoe’s Day, the "short" of a script she also wrote); directs (Four Square, an interactive play); her day jobs are sales and marketing at Giant Pictures and teaching yoga. Adam and Ann, his significant other, visited with us this summer. We just returned from visiting Lauran in Austin. Both support themselves through their art and their "day jobs". In November in Nashville, we’ll all give thanks together with Cyndy, Julie, nephews, cousins and my Dad. Where do you live? (city and state) Mercer Island, Washington What do you do now? Independent consultant. Organizations use me to help create, develop, design and implement strategies tailored to achieve their unique goals. Folks who need an extra hand for a time, want to supplement their organization’s expertise, get an "outsider’s" view point, need to explore a sensitive issue, want to stimulate change or develop new expertise might also use me. For me, it’s stimulating, challenging, and I feel like I’m "giving back". For Sukey, it means more free time, because it keeps me busy and out of her hair. [Sukey says: "But I’m still waiting for you to really retire!" Do you stay in contact with any LH classmates? Occasionally, still, I have the pleasure of chatting with John Merwin, Jody Williams and Gary Johnson. I saw Jody in Austin this last month. I’ve seen Randy Catterton and Bryan Surratt each one time in the last few years. I don’t stay in contact enough, but it feels good to know folks are still there and still accessible. I enjoy using David’s website to "look in" on folks. If you could change anything about your high school experience, what would it be? Study. I really wish I’d indulged more in the pure pleasure of learning, better used the luxurious amount of "free" time available for learning, and appreciated more having teachers like Mrs Brewton, Coach Naylor (spelling? still a problem!), Mr Wolf and Ms McCaffree. As you approach retirement age . . . are you ready? Mark Twain said, "There are two times in a man’s life when he shouldn’t speculate: when he can’t afford it and when he can." Answering the "ready" question includes both affordability and speculation. But even if we can afford to retire, should we do it? Retirement experts tell us to calculate our specifics: Savings, Insurance, Investments, Mortgages & Expenses, Debt, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. After those, consider our general: 1 Health, 2 Family Situation, 3 Psychological Circumstances, 4 Emotional Condition, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. Then, consider: etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. If we’re lucky enough to have a choice, then, we get to ponder all this, make up our minds and decide whether we�re "ready". But there’s still a huge element of uncertainty and, well, speculation. Ready or not, I decided to retire and here I am -- retired. (Sure glad to be working, though!) In your opinion, what is that "certain something" that has kept so many of our class so connected for so long? Our school was small; our class was small; a significant number of us went to school together from first through twelfth grade (I came in the sixth). We were involved in creating and, actually, defining what the school would be (remember voting on a school song, mascot, etc.?). We grew with the school (from Lake Highlands Elementary, Wallace "Middle School", a smaller Lake Highlands High School and, then, significant "add-ons", like the auditorium, to a larger LHHS). When we entered a new building, everything changed, except us - we were still each other and still us. Even though we were each "different" ( Richard Meier the "intellectual", Peefar the "jock", Bryan the "individualist", Johnny Sullivan the "bandy", etc.), at some level we all acknowledged that each of us was a part of us. We developed that "certain something", because we were small enough, had been together long enough, and had enough experiences together to develop an understanding, tolerance, appreciation, and probably (actually) a fondness for one another. A fondness that endures. If David Wise would share his "Wayback Machine" and take you to 1962, would you go? Briefly, as an observer. Anything you want to ramble about . . . To some folks, I must apologize for the following "ramble", but these are serious times and call for a serious ramble; so, I’ve got to speak out.