An Unfulfilled Dream

The title of my book is "An Unfulfilled Dream", and it presents a fictional story that takes place in a historically accurate setting. It follows the evolving and unlikely friendship between two very different families. One is a wealthy white family and the other is a poor Black family. The setting is Mill Valley, California including a neighboring unincorporated housing project called Marin City. The story begins in 1960, and it incorporates all the common and accepted language of that day. Initially, it follows the developing relationship between two high school freshman playing football for Tamalpais High School. Tragedy brings the families together, and racism leads to more tragedy. Through kindness and love, these families persevere. The story brings out both the harsh and subtle aspects of racism, along with the importance of friendship. The story ends in 1963, months before Dr. King's "I have a Dream" speech, with the realization that today Dr. King's dream is far from being fulfilled, hence "An Unfulfilled Dream."

I am a retired college professor of physics. I am 77 years old, live with my wife in Cloverdale, CA and have three adult children and seven grandchildren. I was born in San Francisco and raised in Mill Valley, CA through my freshman year at Tamalpais High School. My family then moved to Redding, CA, where I graduated from Shasta High School in 1965. I graduated from CSUC in 1969 and completed my graduate work at the University of California, Davis followed by 39 years of experience in education.

During my professional career, teaching was always a passion for me, and I taught physical science, math, chemistry and physics. After graduate school, I taught at Oakmont High School, Roseville, CA for five years before moving on to Sierra Community College, Rocklin, CA for thirty-four years. I spent the last five of those years in administration as Dean of Math and Science.

It is worth noting that my career was characterized by change. After completing college, I went from teaching high school to college, from teaching chemistry to teaching physics and math, and finally moving from teaching to administration. All of this change was initiated by me and led to tremendous personal and professional growth. Toward the end of my career, I was the best that I could be. I was honored by students when they nominated me for faculty member of the year. I was also honored by my peers as administrator of the year. Ironically, having spent an entire career at reaching this pinnacle when I was the most effective, it was then time to retire. I truly loved my career and would not change a thing if I had it to do all over again. Teaching at the community college level was an unforeseen gift for me. Unlike the university level, we did not have to publish, and our sole emphasis was teaching. This emphasis was realized when statistics reveal that community college students who transfer to four-year universities have a higher average GPA and lower attrition rate for their junior and senior years than students who enter the university directly from high school.

Finally, I enjoy travel, photography, golf, writing and volunteering for various causes. Most importantly, though, is the time I spend with my family and friends.