Culture Shock circa 1979

**STOP** if you're looking for Thymoma information on this one. Instead, this is part of my early life prior to Thymoma

Culture Shock?

Before flunking out during my second year of college I decided to quit college instead.  Well okay,  I flunked out but managed to escape the bad grades by quiting first.  Does that sound right?  That was over 30 years ago but I think it went something like that.  My first year of college I had spent at the Riverside Community College but for some reason I thought I was ready for my second year at Cal Poly – Pomona.  I was wrong. 

That decision though, did lead me to the beginning of a life adventure I wouldn’t give up for anything.  I had seen the flyer somewhere at the community college and I applied and was accepted to the California Conservation Corps. It was a program, modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the depression era, working outdoors doing “conservation” projects around the state.  That job taught me a lot.  A lot about myself and about other people.  The CCC also brought my good friend, Judy Stangelan, to my life.  Judy and I first met while at the month long ‘boot camp’ for the CCC in Murphy’s, California.  At that point in time there was nothing in Murphys, that I remember, except the old mental hospital, where they now housed nothing but hundreds of us young eager “conservation” minded individuals. 

Our work turned out to be things like clearing fire breaks.  So, for instance, we learned how to handle different fire fighting hand tools.  We cleaned up campgrounds in the spring and filled sand bags for flooding waters in the winter. We helped to build running trails in public parks and plant baby trees in burned out forest areas among many other service related jobs.   

Our housing was dormitory style and the first CCC camp I was assigned to our sleeping areas were defined by partitions, lockers and old dresser drawers.  The State had moved the residential minimum security men’s prison from our camp and moved in us mostly white, middle class, ready to save the world, youngsters into the facility.  It took the neighbors awhile to adjust to seeing us walk and drive down the road when they were so used to being on the look out for escaped prisoners!

My time with the CCC was only one year.  April 17, 1978 to April 17, 1979 funny how I remember the date so well.  It became a kind of talisman date for me over the following years.  That was the extent of my contract with the CCC, just one year then you were ready for the world.  The first part of my year, after boot camp, was spent at the Butte Fire Center (and tree nursery) in Magalia, California.  The second was at the San Luis Obispo CCC camp located at the old National Guard Armory located about six miles between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.  Beautiful area. 

After a year with the CCC I thought I was invincible. The self confidence I felt then has never been matched.  There was nothing I couldn’t do.  So at 21 years of age, I drove my little Chevrolet Chevette alone across the country on a five day trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   Stopping at cheap motels every night along the way and even though I stuck to the highways, thoroughly enjoying myself crossing the USA alone.   

In Pittsburgh I lived with my cousin, Martha Speer, for a couple months.  The plan was that I would get a job and we would be roommates and then….well I don’t think we had a “then” planned.   I just took it day by day and never found a job!  Martha on the other hand, had a secretarial job she went to every day at the University of Pittsburgh and a regular paycheck and responsibilities she took seriously.  The job I eventually did find for the summer was as a camp counselor with a Girl Scout camp near Franklin, Virginia. 

Martha was reminding me the other day about the two weekends we spent in Washington DC during that time.  The first we traveled as tourists just wanting to see the Capitol.  While there we also saw a flyer advertising a 'No More Nuks' protest rally with Jane Fonda the following weekend.  Yes, we marched with Jane Fonda in an anti-nuclear protest. 

I had been a Girl Scout for many years of my life and with the  recent outdoor experience with the CCC I felt I was  fairly well prepared.  Being young having a ridiculously positive view of the world, I would say I was over prepared for the job!   Until I met CULTURE SHOCK.  Wow.  What a learning experience that was.            

The first introduction I had was when one girl scout that came from the local area said that she was the only 13-year-old girl in the whole county and while I didn’t think about it much at the time it did stick in my mind.  Hmmm....county population must be pretty small.

I was assigned to be the bicycle counselor for the summer.  Only because they had no one else for the job.  The only thing I knew about bicycles was riding them.  Hey, it’s still the only thing I know about bicycles.  One of the programs for the summer camp was for a group of kids to do an overnight ride from the girl scout camp to the historic Jamestown settlement about 20 miles away.  The overnight stay was at the summer camp for an Episcopalian church.  Again,  something I knew nothing about.  Lets just call me a free spirit Californian. 

Our overnight trip started off well and  our first rest stop  was a designated park that  we found easily, but later in the day when we needed another pit stop, I had trouble finding a place.  Except for the high school that was open and had kids wondering around the halls, unfortunately I couldn’t find the bathrooms.  I asked a couple of the girls there for directions and was met just with blank stares and no response.  In the end we left the school – I don’t remember where we finally found to relieve ourselves. 

I also don’t remember how long it took me to realize that the “only 13-year-old girl in the county” mean’t she was the only 13-year-old white girl in the county and girls we asked directions of at the high school were black girls that had no intention of speaking or helping me in anyway. 

On one of my days off from the camp, in order to get practice riding a bicycle again I rode into Franklin to visit the laundry mat.   Now being familiar with laundry mat etiquette, I saw that the dryers were full when my wash finished and next up to use the dryer was an older black woman so, I settled in with a book to wait.   Again culture shock appeared  in the way the woman would not hear of me waiting for her.  No, no, no I should go first.  She would not dry her clothes first before me no matter how much I insisted!   Wow.  What a lesson for a 21-year-old girl from California in 1979. 

It was after that summer that I made my way back to the community college in Riverside and earned a two year degree before taking off on my next life adventure.  College since then has been hit and miss.  I spent a couple terms working at a "business administration" (read Secretarial) courses and I sometimes think that if you added up all the college credits I have accumulated over the years I would probably come up with enough for a couple four year degrees in there somewhere.  Hmmm... focus has never been my strong suit.