Tulelake, CA— Editorial: Taking a break…
I just love it I am the one that is suppose to be so unstable but the opposite is the truth. As the saying goes, “the truth will set you free” and it will not be long now.
Without going or being egotistic as I was taught a long time ago by a very good friend the following saying: “The bigger the star the nicer they are, the smaller the star the bigger they think they are” by VJ Nickel in 1975. VJ Nickel was a very good friend of mine many moons ago as she used to live at one of my favorite beaches growing up in Southern California. The left side of the pier facing the ocean in Seal Beach, CA was my favorite for many years to come.
Back when I first started college at Long Beach City College (LBCC) in Long Beach, CA as I worked as a teacher’s aide from 1975 to 1978 working on my AA degree in Theatre Arts/Telecommunications. VJ Nickel even arranged for me to direct the International Assembly at Washington Jr. High in Long Beach, CA. Where I directed the International Assembly talent show for two years in row. Where we rehearsed after school. The first year I worked in what was called then, the Math Lab where the students would come to math lab for help with their classroom problems and understanding in Mathematics. From Regular Math to Algebra and beyond which I was there to assist them in learning the basics to Statistics under SB90.
*Senate Bill 90 (SB90) passed by the State. Legislature in 1972. • Affirmed by the voters of California in 1979 by virtue of Prop 4, thus becoming a Constitutional.
Then one summer my good friend also help me to get my first real directing position for the Seal Beach Community Players from Leisure World. Where a group got together and put on two one-act plays. The first one was called, “Who threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder?” The second was mine and it was called the “Dear Departed” where I not only directed it but I designed the sets for both plays. I borrowed all the flats from LBCC as was enrolled in special projects where I was given a grade for directing the play in Seal Beach, CA in the summer of 1977 23 years old at the time.
I went on to work for Bellflower Unified School District with the special PE classes through out the district and then transferred to May Fair High School and worked in the special education class with Mary, I will leave it at that because I do not recall her last name when I was attending Cal State Long Beach and majoring in Theatre. Then I dropped out after a semester and half. Biology killed me. I couldn’t handle that but I got an “A” in Astronomy from LBCC.
Then during this time while still working for both Long Beach Unified and Bellflower Unified School District I was given the detention after school where all the 15 minute, 30 minute and 1 hour detentions were held in my class room where I had experience and education enough to handle it at Stephens Jr. High in Long Beach, CA. Where I started in the mornings at Bellflower Unified with Mary and the special Education Class and then went to Long Beach Unified School district for lunch supervision which took me 20 minutes to get there on a good traffic day. Then I had 5th and 6th period boys PE classes as a paid teacher’s aide. Then I was given the detention room after school where I was suppose to be off work at 3:30 PM as I was only paid for 3.5 hours per day.
I would volunteer the last half hour and depending on how many hour detentions I had that day. I might cut them loose ten minutes early if they behaved themselves and then I could get to my night classes after having dinner at Long Beach State University, Cal State Long Beach with my full time school schedule on top of two part time jobs as I worked my way through school at the time.
But before that I taught a drama class for a friend of mine who I worked with in the Library at Washington Jr. High in 1977-78 who name was Lucy Lin. She was Chinese and both sides of her family were General on the Main Land and in Taiwan. Her side on the mainland her husband side on Taiwan.
The last semester and a half at Hamilton JR High I taught the class for her because she asked me to help her because she knew drama or theater was my major and she kind of got stuck with the drama class as part of her English Classes she was teaching at the junior high level. So I put a play together called, The Wizard of OZ but with a combination of music from both the original and the movie the Wiz.
After all we are talking Long Beach California where there were many different cultures and races but mostly Caucasian and black. A young lady that I wanted to be cast, as Dorothy had to change her attitude as she felt white people hated black people and she was taught all white people were prejudice.
How wrong she was about me. I mentioned before I cast the play that as director I was not going to cast anyone who would argue with me as I was giving them stage directions. I was not going to deal with attitudes, some like the ones I deal with in Tulelake just as a private person writing stories and trying to start a local newspaper in the little city called, Tulelake, CA.
When the play was performed all the teachers came to Lucy Lin and mentioned to her that was the best play they had seen directed or performed in 20 years, they gave her all the credit for all my hard work. Well, I will repeat again I do not have an ego and as VJ Nickel taught me, “The bigger the star the nicer they are, the smaller the star the bigger they think they are” by VJ Nickel in 1975.
"I am unstable and I am the nut case, I don’t think so! I guess it depends on who you ask as some would say…?" Humm?
Written by James Garland of Tulelake News
PO Box 772
Tulelake, CA 96134-0772
Home Phone (530) 667-4744
Cell # (530) 708-7852
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