NSURIT@xxxxxxx wrote:
olymoose@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Keep on keepin' on, as some of us old Berkeley hippies used to say, and
be well.
Moose, are you sure you were one of the hippies and not one of the Hell's
Angels who use to hang out in Berkeley?
No, I was trying to be a good hippie back then, with mixed success.
I spent a good part of 1966 and 67 there as I was stationed at Oak Knoll Navy
Hospital in Oakland and dating/living with a young lady who was a student at
UCB.
I went in the Coast Guard reserve in '66 right after I graduated. I got
married just before that 'cause I'd gotten committed just before LBJ
eliminated the married deferrment. So I was also living with a young
lady who was a student at Berkeley. My best friend's brother was a Navy
MD at Oak Knoll. Had some interesting stories. Just one, a Commander
very full of himself was throwing his weight around in a waiting room
and making life hell for the receptionist. When it seemed he was never
going to stop, an old man sitting there admonished him for his behavior
and asked him to stop. When the Commander turned his wrath on the old
man, including "Who do you think you are?", he replied "I am Fleet
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, and I think you better sit down and shut up."
And so he did. Of course Nimitz was long retired, but could still have
cooked the guy's goose. I also used to bag groceries for Nimitz in the
early 60s. Seemed like a nice guy, if a little upright in the posture
department.
Use to get a few strange looks while wearing my Cracker Jack sailor uniform,
but can't say that I ever had a problem in or around the campus and we were
within blocks of campus.
We probably ignored each other at least once around there somewhere. I
never wore my uniform around Berkeley if I could avoid it. After the 1st
6 months, I just snuck out of town to my Thursday night meetings on
Treasure Island.
That was in interesting time. A few days ago I was looking at some slides I
made with my Miranda camera at Christmas time 1967 in Berkeley, just before
leaving on a years tour of duty on the Mekong Delta. Yes, that was an
interesting time and I have many fond memories of those years.
Indeed. A high school buddy fo mine was in his National Guard uniform on
the other side of the wire fence during the People's Park protest.
Fortunately, they were wise enough not to issue bullets for that one and
all was peaceful. The NG units had their field artillery parked in the
hanger where my reserve unit met.
Moose
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