Growing up in the Santa Clara valley was very pleasant. As you know during the nineteen fifties it was mostly orchards. There were strawberry fields and lots of other kinds of agriculture. Life is pretty good for all the kids on my block.

We did real innocent things as children. We played in the orchards or swam, road bikes… it was just like Happy Days. We used to slide down the spillways, went to movies where we would watch all day for a quarter.

I lived on Twigg lane in Cupertino. There used to be an orchard behind our house that they took out to make Cupertino high school. Everyone knew everyone on our block. People helped one another. People had similar backgrounds, race, religions, and political beliefs. Everyone got along. Kids got along.

Everyone knew everyone else’s business. I think there were perhaps about 5000 people living in Cupertino at this time. We all went to grade school together and high school together. Some of us went to community college together. Some went on to San Jose state. Then, unfortunately, the draft came along.