When I received a phone call from Joel Lippman informing me of this website, I was overwhelmed with emotion and memories. The "Summer of '64" that we spent on the Dartmouth College campus was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. First of all I was returning to my native New England. I was born and raised in Vermont but had moved to California in 1959. Secondly, Dartmouth had always been my "dream school" growing up and I really wanted to attend college there but could not afford the tuition. (CAL Berkeley, on the other hand, only charged $60 a semester.) So now I was finally going to experience being a "Dartmouth student" and living on campus. Thirdly, the whole experience of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer was fulfilling a promise I made the weekend John F. Kennedy died that I would, indeed, serve in "his" Peace Corps. Finally, it was an incredible educational experience for me becoming more fluent in French, absorbing the music, language, history, and culture of Africa, and, most of all, meeting fellow college students from all over the country.

Our second summer in Ste. Anne de la Pocatiere was equally rewarding. And I was still fully committed to serving in the Peace Corps which at first was going to be in the country of Senegal but was then switched along with several of you to the country of Togo. Remember our silly slogan, "Togo-a-go-go!" And so we flew on a Pan Am flight to Dakar, Senegal, Freeport, Liberia, and finally landed in Lome, Togo. The moment I stepped off the plane I began to experience, what I thought I was so prepared to deal with, "culture shock." During our first month in Lome, I continued to be uncomfortable but was slowly adjusted to life in Africa or so I thought. But when I was assigned to the interior town of Sokode which required several hours on a train, followed by ride in the back of a truck, I really started to suffer. I remember wondering around the village, finding a small church and asking God to give me strength to "do this". But as days passed I increasingly felt like I was in "another world, another century" and no longer connected to the "real world." Finally, I decided that I had to come home. I remember how understanding the PC director was and how he took me to visit with my good friend from Berkeley, Karen Woodbury, hoping I might change my mind. Karen was living in a mud hut compound by herself and I was amazed at her ability to adapt and cope with the Togolese way of life and realized that I would never be able to "live like that". And so, I made the difficult decision to leave the Peace Corps and was flown back to the United States after only three months.

There was relief at first but it was soon followed by an overwhelming sense of GUILT which I have carried with me all my life. It was the first thing I had ever "failed" at and my self-esteem was definitely damaged. I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I never again made any connect with any of you, nor responded to correspondence from the Peace Corps or other volunteers in the Bay Area who were always having reunions. And then I got a call from Joel Lippman and one of the first things he told me was that he never went to Africa, nor did some others who were at the Dartmouth training. I had always assumed that I was the ONLY person who didn't follow through with the two year commitment. And so now I am beginning to process what happened to me in Togo in a different light and hopefully will not be so hard on myself in the future.

Of course, there was life after the Peace Corps and I went on to lead a good one. Upon my return from Togo, I re-enrolled at Berkeley and completed my 5th year in the School of Education which awarded me a Secondary teaching credential. I proceeded to teach Social Studies (A.P. History, A.P. Political Science, Leadership, and Student Government advisor) at the high school level for the next 33 years. It was a rewarding career and I loved everyday in the classroom. I spurned several opportunities to "move up" into administration so I would not loose contact with students on a daily basis. While teaching, I never gave up my belief in the value of being a Peace Corps volunteer and encouraged several students to succeed as volunteers where I had failed.

Upon my retirement I moved to Washington State where I live on Harstine Island in the south Puget Sound near Seattle with my life time partner, Dan, who is also a teacher. Only he has the other spectrum of teaching: handicapped and special education students. Two years ago we were finally able to adopt two brothers that we "rescued" from a homeless, alcoholic, meth-addicted mother. The older brother is mentally handicapped and was a student in Dan's class. The younger had not been in school for over a year and was trying to survive on the streets of Bremerton, WA. They are both doing well in school, have gained weight, are healthy, and, most importantly, are smiling and laughing again. I feel it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. It is a long way from a village in Togo, but finally I have made a real difference in someone's life.