Liz and Natalie, Stephen and Greg’s mom and sister. They saw me fly by the window when I was painting the house and fell into a big bush and got stuck!
Greg’s 240SX at my house.
Gregory’s smile after removing his braces himself with a dremel and needle nose pliers.
Greg’s car in my garage, well kinda became his. LOL
Greg working on his engine.
Greg’s engine and turbo setup. It was an all DIY process by Greg and helpers.
This is Bob the youngest of the adopted kids that I lived with at the lawyer’s house when I first went to Seal Beach while I was going to USC pharmacy school, and Bob’s older brother Mike was going to law school. He was the one who helped me with the champion of the little guy scenarios over the years.
A group of friends from the house in Seal Beach went out to the Colorado River, and Bob and I stopped here, apparently, because my 1974 Datsun 260z car was probably running hot, that would be my guess.
And ironically, years later I ended up working for U-Haul, and I never even noticed that until I found this picture, while I was gathering photos for this website.
Same river trip with Bob, Steve and Paul (seated foreground) my dirt bike riding teenage buddy from Seal Beach days. I would have been in my early twenties around this time.
Sittting in our backyard relaxing in the Seal Beach sun with Steve (far left), me (center) and Bob (right), the youngest of the adopted kids by their lawyer dad John.
My classmate at USC pharmacy school that also lived in Seal Beach and was part of a three-person carpool we put together, standing in the driveway of the house I was living in with the adopted kids and the lawyer dad.
(Right) – Richard (Dick) and Me at Angel Stadium taking in another LOSS I’m sure… LOL
One season I bought a mini-ticket plan for the Anaheim Ducks, with the sole purpose of inviting Richard as a surprise.
We had really great seats right at the very uppermost row on the bottom ice level, right behind the opponent’s goal. Easy access, easy entry. The suite right behind us with rotating people, different games. It was fun.
At one point, a perk I got with the tickets or another event (I don’t recall which), but the point is we were able to skate on the ice. He really enjoyed that.
Ducks game at Honda Center. Temu Selanne’s retirement was celebrated before the game (below left).
Dick skating on the ice after the Ducks game and enjoying himself (below).
Dick and I created our beer bottle tree for our pre-draft game ritual. “Well, we didn’t want to litter.”
Simian (left) and Pat (right).
I met Larry K. while living in Seal Beach and attending USC pharmacy school. I eventually became friends with his younger brother Stephen K., as well as their mom Ruby and stepdad Ray.
Larry was working as a bellhop or night auditor at a nearby hotel. A guest had given him 1 or 2 FREE Superbowl XIV tickets at the Rose Bowl – Los Angeles Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers played on January 20, 1980, BUT cell phones didn’t exist yet. When he called my house, I wasn’t home… so I missed out on that one!
When I was going to pharmacy school, I helped build a room addition with another young friend of the family.
Neither one of us had ever done anything like this before, so it was like the blind leading the blind sometimes. We’d laugh about it all the time, I had fun.
I enjoy using a different part of my mind doing this kind of stuff. The more creative side.
We also built this multi-tiered, redwood deck with redwood hot tub. Stephen sitting (below).
This is teenage Stephen K. (above and right), Larry’s younger brother. We became good friends, and also went through some darker times.
Stephen went to Kauai, HI (right) to help a friend who was there house-sitting for his cousin.
While he was there I went to visit him and help celebrate his birthday.
Stephen and I visiting another friend living on Maui to celebrate Stephen’s birthday. Photo at one of the stops we made while driving the Hana Highway on our way to the Seven Sacred pools.
We rented an Ugly Duckling rent-a-car. The fun part of the drive was riding on top of the car’s roof, eventually caving it in, while we drove.
We only did this after our local Maui friend convinced me that he knew what he was talking about. He also told us that he rented a car from this company a couple of times before and was familiar with their ‘zero liability’ car damage contract terms. We didn’t purchase any additional insurance coverage I am aware of.
So, having that knowledge was like giving a bunch of guys ‘free reign‘ to abuse & destroy the car guilt-free.
Jumping off the very top cliff at the Seven Sacred pools on Maui. Which actually is more of a step off, as opposed to a jump. Otherwise you risk landing on submerged rocks. Apparently learned the hard way…
As I recall, you stand on a ‘red X’ painted on a bridge railing or wall, and then you just kind of ‘step off‘ and drop straight down.
The first one is the tallest cliff. It looks taller from the bottom, than it does looking down from the top.
Boat-surfing in the Lihue Harbor area. Our friend John was pulling us with his cousins’s boat.
Stephen (right)
A constant running thread running through my mind was the possibility of sharks, especially bull sharks, considering we were boat-surfing where the river mouth meets the ocean in brackish water. Thank you, Shark Week!
Me boat-surfing (below).
Our group of friends celebrating Christmas at Steve and Larry’s parents house in Seal Beach, CA.
Me (front left), Larry (behind me), Larrry’s girlfriend (center), Scott (right rear) and Stephen (right front).
Before Stephen’s wedding in Norwalk, CA. Stephen asked me to be one of his groomsmen (below right).
Pre-weddding huddle: Standing (left to right): his brother Larry, Me, Stephen (center), Paul (seated) and Bob, Stephen’s best man in the back (standing).
Wedding party photo.
Stephen K. sent me this card from a family vacation skiing in Colorado. He was still a young teenager at this point.
He used to drive me and everyone else crazy when we would call to talk to Larry, his older brother, and then he wouldn’t be home. We wouldn’t even get a chance to say, “Could you please leave a message?”
He’d hang the phone up before you could even get the first two syllables out of trying to leave a message… He used to piss everybody off.
Then he became one of my best friends, eventually. It’s funny how that works.
