As some of you know I've been working on a memoir I call "An Unusual Life" When I started that project over 10 years ago I thought I'd be done with it by now. It's not done but as I approach my 70th birthday I thought I'd share some of the events that have shaped this life and whenever An Unusual Life is completed you'll hear more about them
1963
I was 8 years old in 1963, a third grade student at CA Barbour School in Hartford Connecticut. I have a grandson older than that now and a granddaughter at that age now. Their lives seem very different from the life I had at that age but because I experienced what I experienced then I am aware events can occur that make an impact for the rest of one's life.
I wasn't very good at math. For the first time in my young school life I had experienced failure. .D's in math. Failure didn't go over well in the Daniels household. I remember an incident where I wanted a hug and got pushed away till I got my multiplication tables correct. The worst incident however came on a Thursday. Thursday was the day my Dad would visit my house. I couldnt tell you when my parents got divorced, I just remember sometime after my youngest brother was born Dad stopped spending the night at the house. One Thursday Dad wanted to help me with my math. I didnt want to deal with math. The conflict escalated. Next thing I know Dad is hitting me. Mom hears the battle and runs upstairs to get Dad to stop only to be met with Dad shutting the door and continuing with the beating.. I received a black eye and was told to tell people at school that I fell down the stairs. Mom took Dad to court afterwards and there was a possibility that his visitation rights would be stripped. They werent but it took me weeks afterwards before I was willing to be in a room with him or talk to him. This incident remained as a cloud over our relationship till a "clear the air' conversation we had shortly before his death.
We were studying math in Miss Amato's 3rd grade classroom on Friday November 22,1963. I was hoping not to be called upon and potentially embarrassing myself when the Principal Mr Jurcyck came into the classroom to inform Miss Amato that President Kennedy had been shot. A short time later Mr Jurcyck returned to inform Miss Amato that President Kennedy had died. We were dismissed from school early. I ran home expecting to break the news of the President's death to my mom and grandmother. Of course they had been watching the soap opera As The World Turns. For the next four days I was glued to the television from the time I woke up till the time I had to go to bed. The incident with my Dad compounded the fact that I wasnt very well liked at school. I was constantly teased and harassed by classmates for being ugly being a poor athlete and as one who would bring books outside to read at recess time. I felt like I knew what it was like to be hated. Someone I thought must have hated Kennedy enough to send a bullet through his head. At the same time judging from the reaction to his death from not only mom and grandma but with leaders from around the world.I got the very strong sense that he was a person deeply loved and one working towards a better world. I decided from that point on I wanted to be loved like that and made it my goal to when I grew up to become President of the United States. It was a goal I actively pursued up until my college days.
The Adirondacks
I had been accused of smoking marijuana long before I actually did. The first time was while watching a CBS News report on Haight-Asbury with my mom. When it highlighted the marijuana usage taking place I made the comment to the effect that if marijuana was making these people peaceful maybe it's a good thing. "Woe be unto you if I EVER catch you using marijuana" My mom shot back. Whenever she used the term "Woe" that meant she was serious about her intent.
The second accusation occurred as a 7th grader when I became a weekend volunteer for the 1968 Presidential campaign of Senator Eugene McCarthy. McCarthy's primary issue was opposition to the War in Vietnam thus his campaign became a magnet for many draft age young people including many "hippies" who cut their hair and became "Clean for Gene" Rumors of marijuana smoking at McCarthy headquarters began to sprout. As a result my mom (who happened to be working for McCarthy's rival Hubert Humphrey) would quiz me about possible marijuana usage anytime I returned from McCarthy headquarters. The fear of the "Woe be unto you" repercussions kept me in check through most of my time in high school. At the same time I knew if I ever did smoke it I was already a suspected marijuana user thus there was nothing to lose if I decided to try it.
The time finally came on a school sponsored high school senior class camping trip to Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Being in nature for the first time in my life was life changing in itself. One night over a campfire while other students and teachers were getting drunk,two classmates Roberta Markowicz and Lori Redfield invited me to return to their tent to smoke marijuana with them. I told them I had never smoked before. Roberta asked if I'd like to try. I said "Yes" Lori responded "I think you are a secret hippie!" We smoked 2 joints that night. I didnt necessarily feel anything that night but I knew life was going to be different from here on out. I returned from the Adirondacks with an increased interest in the writings of Thoreau Emerson and Richard Brautigan. Years later the issue of marijuana legalization drove my 1987 campaign for Mayor of Denver and my 2000 Minnesota US Senate Campaign Marijuana was the pathway to my Rasta spirituality. Smoking marijuana onstage is what fueled interest in my first play and led to the formation of the Reggae Theatre Ensemble
Alaska
In the beginning there was a fascination with Jack London stories. There were also the National Geographic TV specials that captured my imagination. By the time I reached 5th grade I felt it was time to begin putting my road to the White House plan together. From what I could gather Alaska had its share of independent and frontier minded folks. For me, as one already casted as an "oddball" and "outsider" Alaska seemed to be the perfect fit to begin my political ambitions. Beginning then I used my allowance money to buy subscriptions to the Anchorage Daily News . From my studies of everything Alaska I learned Alaskans had a jaundiced eye towards anyone viewed as "outsiders" I then made it my goal to learn everything I could about Alaska,its history culture and politics so that by the time I arrived there'd be no question about my Alaskan credentials. My goal was to get elected Governor of Alaska and to use that as a springboard for a Presidential run
I didn't necessarily plan on attending college in Alaska but when it was time to look at and applying for colleges for the hell of it I decided to explore colleges in Alaska. There were 2 colleges to look at. One was Alaska Methodist University, a small liberal arts college located in Anchorage,the other was the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. AMU with a student population of 400 students seemed to be the better fit for me as I was graduating from a small college prep school with little over 100 students. At the beginning of my senior year I applied at AMU. Before Christmas vacation I had been accepted at AMU and shortly afterwards was offered nearly a full scholarship to attend. My mind was made up I was going to attend!
Alaska truly was a different world. I was now in a land where moose roamed freely in the city. TV was on a two week delay basis. As I learned from my years of reading the Anchorage Daily News, dogsled race results often took precedence over news taking place nationally or internationally. Long days of mosquito filled summers followed by long dark and cold winters.Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Cabin Fever is real
The various adventures that took place during my time in Alaska to this day have been the source of many stories that I have brought to the performance,spoken word and storytelling stages. Two Alaska based stories are subjects on my first CD "Talkin' Roots"
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