Changes HS to ASU

Racing with the dogs

The time between high school and college is a logical point to make changes and I made a bunch of them. Before that summer I sold off my Italian car and bought a French (Gitane) 10 speed bike. I sold off my German handgun and bought a German (Zeiss) camera.

Car to bike

The decision to replace an automobile with a bike, was my response to the Santa Barbara oil-spill. I decided I didn't want to be a part of that problem. That decision has shaped my life in a substantial way -- determining where I've lived (a place with good public transit) and saving me a lot of money.

I had almost always had a bike but never one as nice as this Gitane, but since I was riding all the way to college in an adjacent city, it was a necessary investment.

Not only was it excellent transportation but it was also great fun to work on. Besides patching tires, I took apart the brakes, the pedals, nearly every part of the machine and cleaned and lubricated everything -- you would be amazed by how many ball bearings it takes to make a bike work properly. It was very satisfying and so much easier and cheaper than working on a car.

Riding to school was a long and hazardous slog along a series of major streets that were both busy and ugly. Besides dodging rocks and cars (and the occasional beer can tossed at me), there was nothing of any scenic interest anywhere along the route. To really put the bike through it’s paces, I would take it out on weekend mornings on the flat, straight, and deserted streets of the neighboring Indian reservation. Out there I could get up to the top gear and cruise in peace for miles. The only hazard here were the packs of dogs that guarded some of the farm houses off the street. There was usually a long driveway leading to these houses the dogs had to traverse before they hit the street. One dog would spot me approaching and sound the alarm which would be taken up by the entire pack as they headed for me. I would accelerate to my maximum speed and be passed them by the time they hit the street. I would be going too fast for them to overtake me. It was a little scary but also exhilarating.

One morning I was riding not on the reservation but on a parallel street not far from the edge of the reservation. I was going quite fast but suddenly became aware that there was a dog running behind me. His silence had given me no warning and I quickly accelerated to my maximum speed only to finally look back to find a happy looking greyhound loping off my rear wheel. He could have run me down without even trying.

First real camera

The Zeiss Contax was my first serious camera, a 35mm rangefinder model with a good (and very fast) 50mm lens (it could freeze helicopter rotors easily).

This was a characteristically odd choice for me as SLRs were the standard at the time, but I loved it and learned to work within it’s limitations. The lack of available lenses for that model meant I wasn’t tempted to buy telephoto or close-up lenses. I could concentrate on using the standard lens and on learning to develop and print my pictures in the darkroom.

Veggie

The final, life altering, change I made at this time in my life was the decision to become a vegetarian.  I was reading about Buddhism at the time and decided if I could live without killing things, I should. The first year is the hardest both because you are used to eating everything and because you still can. (After a year your gut loses the enzymes required to break down some meats). 

I ate a final Big Mac on a trip to California (back when Big Macs were still good and not just cheap -- if appearances are anything to go by) and a final meal of fish and chips on another California trip also in the summer of 1970. I think there was also an extended family dinner where the hostess hadn't gotten the memo and I went along so as not to be a total ass. Since then I've only eaten dead animals by accident (and sometimes suffered the gastrointestinal consequences). Not owning a car is actually much harder.