Hawthorne Feedback

Name: Barbara Duran ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Feb 17, 2010, 1:28 pm - HHS Time

Class: 1972
City & State: El Segundo

Message: Not everyone had a good experience in high school but, you pick and choose your memories. I remember being in the girls bathroom having a smoke (I know, I know, I shouldn't have been doing that but hey, I was 16 yrs old). A girl that I didn't know came up to me and asked "did you hear that Barbara Duran is pregnant?" I said "really? what a slut". Right after that, one of my girl friends walked in and said "Hi Duran". The girl looked at me like, 'oh crap'. I said 'yep...I'm Barbara Duran". At the time, it really hurt me but now, it gives me the giggles. So basically, it turned into one of many fun memories of high school.
p.s. please no comments about the smoking thing :) I have a healthy 38 yr old son that has given me three beautiful grand children.

Name: Rick Weaver ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Feb 17, 2010, 9:54 am - HHS Time

Class: 1973
City & State: Bedford, NH

Message: Ok, time to chime in on a few topics. First off, John – thank you for respecting our First Amendment rights and publishing what has turned out to be a rather controversial posting by my former Track and Field teammate Tom Leeman. I remember Tom very well. He was a very determined member of the team and excelled in all of the events he competed in. I don’t recall if we shared any classes though so I can’t speak to his abilities scholastically. We lived in an era where in my opinion, people were more driven to excel, particularly in sports than they are today. We had no PS3’s, no internet, no VCR’s, no iPods and only had channels 2 – 13 (unless you wanted to watch KCET on channel 28). If hitting the books was not our “thing” (present company included), there was not much to fall back on to keep ourselves occupied other than sports. So, for me I ran track. It was never my intention to, but in Freshman year Coach Bunyard discovered I could jump a bit and I was then “drafted” onto the track team. If memory serves, track was a spectacularly unpopular sport from a spectator perspective. Maybe only Cross Country was less popular (no offense to any former CC team members). But, we did it anyway. Why? If we were good, it made us feel good about ourselves. If we were bad, it made us feel good about ourselves for giving it our best shot. On the subject of Teachers, in my four years at HHS, I too had some less than memorable teachers. In fact, I don’t even remember a lot of their names they were so unmemorable. But there were good ones too. If there weren’t, I’m reasonably sure that a lot of people that frequent this site would not be where they are today in all levels of society from musicians and college professors to captains of industry. And there are people like me who just want to be productive members of society and when we are gone for people to say “He was a good guy”, or “she was an awesome person or friend”. When it’s all said and done, maybe the most important things we learned were values. Values we try to pass to our children whether they want to learn them or not. Values that allow us to sleep at night. Values that even without reading the “rules” allow us to know the difference between right and wrong. Maybe we would have learned these things at Leuzinger or Aviation or Mira Costa, but we learned them nonetheless. Maybe it was from HHS or our parents or our church. Who knows? Our memories are what make and keep us human and if we had marvelous, mediocre or miserable memories of HHS, so be it. How boring we would be if we all agreed on everything. Lastly, Senior Square. Finally, you will all be happy to hear, I have no opinion. ‘Nuff rambling for today.

Name: Patty Saville ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Feb 17, 2010, 9:20 am - HHS Time

Maiden: Valencia
Class: 1974
City & State: Laguna Beach, Ca

Message: Hi John et al! I have checked in and glanced at the picture of Senior Square since it was posted but it was not until this morning that I finally realized at whom I was looking - what a great photo!! Also congrats to Tom L. for getting everyone back on the CT 'track'. Clark I didn't know how accomplished you were back at the ole alma mater - wow. I have been busy with our youngest daughter who is now a sophomore - were we really that young? Dances, football games, soccer (although this wasn't yet an official sport when I was in school), the cafeteria food, etc. Yesterday Allie and her friends were talking about the food at their h.s. cafeteria. Allie's friend started describing the huge cookies at her former h.s. and I remembered the HHS cookies- they were so good. Especially the peanut butter ones. I would have said something but they wouldn't have cared

That's why I like CT - I have my little childhood community where people do remember the cookies at the cafeteria! I used to be a contender, but the world continues churning out teen generations moving me further out into the world of the 'older' generation. (Save me from the "who's churning out the population explosion" lectures) I consider CT my own personal fountain of youth. SO thank you one and all for contributing here and participating in our homespun reality show!

Name: Steve Fraser ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Feb 17, 2010, 8:16 am - HHS Time

Class: 1966
City & State: Laguna Woods
No E-mail
Message: My, my, my poor little Thomas. Were those nasty coaches and teachers picking on you?? Guess they never told you that excuses are like assh***s, everyone has one. I think your 15 minutes of fame has lapsed. Since anyone screw up you "formulate years", what do you do as a career. You can't crawl under the high hurdles forever. I know your sister Molly, what a sweet person!! Were you adopted?

Name: Sharon Leach ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Feb 17, 2010, 6:57 am - HHS Time

Maiden: moore
Class: 1966
City & State: long beach, ca

Message: I have to laugh at Tom's posts. He obviously enjoys getting a rise out of people and is succeeding. lol. . . Speaking of whine, on to important matters. I'm am really looking forward to our wine country adventure in June.

Name: Thomas Leeman ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 11:23 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: San Diego, CA

Message: I must admit some of the comments here strike me as very odd. As in "I feel sorry for Tom." Seriously, what's to feel sorry about? It was high school for Christ's sake. Besides, I had some great years despite the impression you got from my post on Bunn, Smith, Stucker and T. Thought at least a few would get a kick out of it. Why so serious? Also, keep in mind I still have a very dear friend from HHS, SDSU would be more accurate. I know he'll be laughing at all this. Really, how serious can you be if your class slogan was "Sin, Sex and STP, we're the class of '73" And how about the women? How could we omit talking those we admired from afar. SInce those that we admired from close up are pretty much off limits I would suppose at this point. Alright so clearly some of you are still admiring all things HHS. It obviously means something to you. I moved on in so many ways I guess it's darn near incomprehensible for me to think of the senior quad as a serious topic anymore than a pencil sharpener in the computer lab. Nevertheless, I do respect the idea of people getting involved in their community even if I personally feel people should set their sites much higher in that regard. But judging from the comments I must have hit a raw nerve somehow. Perhaps there is some psychology I am missing in all this. So in summary I feel compelled to offer my sincere apology to those whose still take great pride in HHS. It's nothing personal, for me it's just a trivial opinion about a high school, albeit an insensitive one. I'm sure most of us will get over it.

Name: Thomas Leeman ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 10:29 pm - HHS Time

Class: 1973
City & State: San Diego, CA

Message: Clark, You have an odd way of defining athletic success. As one of the team's MVP's and the lone qualifier for CIF my senior year aren’t you really disrespecting my team mates like Ken Mcallister, Rick Weaver, Herbst, Skulick, HInders, Alexander, Crane, Clement, Young and everyone else that the contributed so much. Yet then you presume to lecture me on loyalty? To HHS and not your team mates? How is that possible? One really has to wonder what YOU learned? And I certainly wouldn’t blame my success on the coaches. That was the reason I ran track instead of playing baseball to begin with. It’s all on the individual out there on the track. I was proud of what I accomplished at HHS and then I moved on. (Who doesn't do that?) Now when it comes to sport, I found much more enjoyment in what I accomplished playing baseball at SDSU and later in the 70's, 80’s and 90’s against former pros and college players (e.g. , City Championships and World Series Championships with the Gems, personal pitching and HR records) Also, you are really missing the point about the Valedictorian comment. I would never define success by what I did in high school or college for that matter. It's about what one does with one's life. All a valedictorian says to me is that that person studied a lot. But more important I willing to wager that a guys like RIckman would agree that once that bar was set the expectations defined by that potential were more meaningful than the award. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Anyway, good for you!

Name: Keith D. Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 10:24 pm - HHS Time

Class: 1976
City & State: Las Vegas

Message: Clark, I actually remember his face just not his name. HHS did have a very good track team and you should be very proud that you still hold the Pole Vault record. You know that guy from Aviation Tom Hintinaus who pole vaulted for them ended up pretty good and was on the Brazil Olympic team, We also did an Apple Computer commercial together back in 85 or so.

Name: Jill Jaynes ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 5:05 pm - HHS Time

Maiden: McFarlane
Class: 1977
City & State: Mission Viejo, CA

Message: Wow. I haven't read feedback in a few days, and when I did, I was kind of amused at one persons post. All I can say is someone definitely has a victims mentality. I noticed while reading his post that nothing was ever his fault. It also sounds like somebody hasn't gotten over it and moved on. Being a former student of Konnie Krislock, I can appreciate you wanting to vent your frustrations in a forum, but pal, this isn't the forum to do it in. You might want to try to start up your own website and maybe call it www.sourgrapesformercougar.com. While your at it, you can dish all the gossip you want about former classmates. I think you might be on to something. While I agree that there were some mediocre teachers at Hawthorne, there were also some amazing teachers there too. Okay, I think I'm done now. I have probably already given too much attention to this person. Hope everyone had a happy Valentines day!

Name: Clark Millman ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 3:01 pm - HHS Time

Class: 1976
City & State: Wichita,KS

Message: Hey Keith: Actually when you and I were freshman, Tom ran varsity track. He was a high hurdler although he never achieved highly, never set the school record or placed at CIF. I'm sure he'll blame the coaches for his lack of success but that argument is defeated by the fact that coach Courtney had a state champion hurdler in the mid-eighties. Tom: The most important thing you failed to learn in high school was loyalty! Few of us still live in Hawthorne but most of Cougartown would still like HHS to be as good of a school as possible for the current student body! P.S. My valedictorian was Linda Stepp and valedictorian is a great achievement whether you appreciate it or not!

Name: George Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 10:27 am - HHS Time

Class: 1962
City & State: Palm Desert, Ca

Message: Hey, Howard "Paco" Duran Boy; LOL, are you trying to get out of a traffic ticket, LOL, Chippy won't help, trust me.Jorge

Name: Don Burns ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 9:34 am - HHS Time
Class: 1957
City & State: Downey, CA

Message: Hey Cougs, sounds like Tom really enjoyed his time at HHS, or he wouldn't have had such a hard time with the teachers that impacted his life so he is able to recall such bad things. He sounds like a guy that had a chip on his shoulder that got knocked off a few times too many, because the teachers wouldn't put up with his c***. Tom, keep up the good post they are good fiction reading. Later Don

Name: Keith D. Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 9:32 am - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Las Vegas

Message: I just saw some of Tom Leeman's posts. I can see where he is coming from. Not everyone had a great time at HHS. He obviously was an under achiever and apparently the farthest from an athlete as you can get. He tried to fit in and just couldn't find his niche. Not sure if they had a chess club back then but maybe that would have been a good road to travel or the band. He just was not physically gifted. But, I have to agree with his assessment of Stucker and Smith. How many Porsche's did Stucker go through while at HHS

Name: Keith D. Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 9:24 am - HHS Time

Class: 1976
City & State: Las Vegas

Message: Howard you should know my brother Les is a CHP.

Name: Bob Jensen ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 9:09 am - HHS Time

Class: 1971
City & State: Los Angeles
No E-mail
Message: Rushdi Bolous of the student store has made it clear that he was instructed to sell all copies, even the library copy. I must assume that he is telling the truth. If you know for sure that their will be archives kept please let us know, if not then I suggest letters to the school and to the board.

Name: Bob Jensen ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 8:25 am - HHS Time
No E-mail
Message: Raising money or donating time and labor are not the issue with Senior Square. There is bond money for capital improvements for HHS which will cover the cost of resurrecting SS. Tradition, Pride and Spirit is what is needed. Perhaps our band of alumni can offer that by showing our moral support for the school and the area. There have been some changes within the school board which included some dismissals. The facts are cloudy so I would not want to speculate about the situation. Hopefully the district will get its act together which would be a great improvement for the school. What I still can’t believe is that the high school would sell off their archive of yearbooks. What next, the sports trophies! For those who care about the school I would suggest a letter writing campaign to the district. For anyone who lives within the area I suggest attending meetings and if you have the energy, running for the board. I know those B Girls could straighten out that board!

Name: James Cicalese ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 6:40 am - HHS Time

Class: 1974
City & State: Lakewood ca

Message: I Feel sorry for Tom. It sounds like he cant remember any of the good things. As teenagers we tend to forget the good and only focus on the bad. My high school days were tough ones and i wondered how i made it. It was due to the teachers and my friends. As a teenager you cant see that but when you get older you get a clearer picture. Speaking of friends i would like to thank the ones who got me through those troubled times. There was Chuck Barrett, Barry Crane Glenn Kacina, Pete Photos and Rick Weaver. They gave me a meal when i needed it, a place to stay when i had none and a ton of fond memories.

Name: Thomas Leeman ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Feb 16, 2010, 12:35 am - HHS Time

Class: 1973
City & State: San Diego, CA

Message: By they way I want to thank you for your comments Doris. I noticed you graduated a few years ahead of my sister Mollie. She told me her experience at HHS was much different than mine. No doubt the 50's were a different era than the late 60's early 70's. Also, I don't blame these folks for being defensive. It's a perfectly natural. Honest to a fault has always been my achilles heel. But honestly, LOL, I thought some folks would have a bit more fun with this topic. Also, on a positive note I should have mentioned Mike Sloan. Mollies first husband and a teacher at HHS. Now Mike had one great sense of humor and he was ahead of his time with his Modern Media class. Gave me my first guitar and I've been playing ever since. We don't cross paths anymore but I'm eternally grateful for that. Not the crossing paths thing mind you, the guitar. ;-} So what's my count up to now? Also, thanks Susan. You seem very sincere about the invite. I'll be skiing at Tahoe that week. BTW did you know my sister Mary? She was class of '75 so maybe not.