(Last Updated: $Date: 2005/03/09 04:33:15 $, $Revision: 1.4 $)
"Hi! My name is Peter Castro, and I'm a former student of Pinewood".
Gee, almost sounds like the opening line from a stereo-typical "AA" meeting, right? But, no, it's not. I'm quite proud to have attended Pinewood. My memories of those times are something I will always treasure. When I was there (1974-1979, Grades 4-8) Pinewood had only the Lower and Upper Campuses (grades K-8). Today, Pinewood has three campuses (Lower, Middle and Upper) and serves grades K-12. Some of the former students even teach at Pinewood now (check the 'faculty' menu for each campus and see if you can find them). You can click on the Logo, above, to go to Pinewood's website. Check 'em out!
I made many friends during my days at Pinewood. Unfortunately, as too often happens, I didn't keep up relationships after we all "graduated" and went off our separate ways to high school and later college. Many of them are currently lost to me. I've bumped into a very few of them over time but it was always too short a meeting. More recently I'd reconnected with some of them through some inter-work email lists and through the use of the classmates.com website.
[PLUG: If you haven't already joined some place like classmates.com or reunion.com, I highly recommend you do so. To see and recognize the names of old, forgotten, friends, is worth the price of admission. Call it nostalgia. Call it a curiosity of the past. Whatever. It's a really neat feeling to see a name and say to yourself "Oh, I remember her!", and just let the memories come flooding back in. Anyway, just my .02 cents.]
And while sharing memories with these friends and talking about life after Pinewood, I decided I'd go sift through my old photos and things of long ago. You know, get a visual of these people with whom I spent 5 years of my early childhood to help freshen the ol' grey cells. Alas, I could only find a few old school newspapers and a few pictures (mostly head shots of myself, with my hair all fluffed out (hey, it was the '70s ;-)). But! I was able to unearth an old class picture from 7th and 8th Grade. I present them here for those of who you were with me at that time.
 |
 |
| Grade 7L (1977-'78) | Grade 8L (1978-'79) |
Click on the photo to get a larger image and a list of each students' name.
Just for grins, I've scanned a picture of myself, as I was back then and a picture of myself as I am now. You can check these out here: then and now.
(If I happen to find others, I'll scan 'em and put 'em up here too. If you happen to have one of our old Pinewood class pictures, either scan it and email it to me, or send it to me and I'll scan it. Either way, send me some email and let's talk!)
Now, you might be asking why I'm putting up these old pictures and naming old names. You might think "why dwell on the past?". Well, that's not the case. As much as I enjoy nostalgia, I'm not too keen on returning to that "simpler" time. No, this is just a quick jaunt down memory lane.
We are all, as individuals, partially defined by our experiences over the span of our lives. The early years have the most impression on us and help to shape who we become. Remembering those past times is a way to help review why you are who you are today. It could be something simple, like a game you used to play, or a teacher you really liked who gave you some sage advice (which only made sense much, much later in life), or the secrets you used to pass along in notes when the teacher wasn't looking (you know who you are), or that kiss on the cheek from a cute girl or guy. Whatever. Think of it as introspection. You grew up with these people (well, I did :-). They grew up with you (err, me :-). Remember the fun you had, the pranks you pulled, the scoldings you got and all the times you took that long, lonely march up to the Principals Office. Remember the people you liked, loved and hated for whatever reason. Remember what others did that inspired you, or made you think "I'm *never* gonna do that!". And, if you ever meet them again, stop and talk a while about old times over a drink. You could gain a whole new perspective on that time of your life. You might even be amazed at how you looked through someone elses eyes.
Anyway, that's all I have to say, for now. Oh, there is one other thing.
While reviewing this segment of my life, I went and dug up a few old
school newspapers (with titles like the "Green 'n White Dynomite!").
Every article and by-line had a name that I either knew, kinda remembered,
or didn't remember at all :-). I've compiled a list of those I
remembered and knew
here.
Check them out. I might try and put some specific memories with the
names... if I remember 'em :).
If you remember someone that should be on that list
(maybe even you), send me some email and let's talk! Better yet,
if you've got some story from the days of Pinewood past, write it down and
send it to me!
Like I said above, while digging though my stuff I happen to unearth some old dittos from my time at Pinewood. You remember "ditto"s, right? This was before "Xerox" was popular for photo-copying (and cheaper too!). Remember the two-tone purple ink? When you got them fresh from the ditto-machine you could get a good whiff of the alcohol used in the transfer process. Get enough of 'em and you could almost get a buzz from 'em (just kidding :). Anyway, I've attempted to salvage the 20+ year old pages by scanning them in and posting them. Call me crazy, but just looking at the work my fellow students did brings back even more memories! Anyway, click here to get a list of what's available.
If you feel like sending me some email to say "Hey! You spelled my name wrong, dufus!" or "Hey! You can't put my name up there, I'll sue!" or even just to say "Hey!", I can be reached at doctor@fruitbat.org.
See Ya Later!
