AC_1965_Web

155 AN T I OC H CO L L E G E C L A S S O F 19 6 5 5 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y B O O K A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z S T O C K T O N STOCKTON JOAN THEN AND NOW 4 B.A. Elementary Education FAMI LY 4 Son, Peter 4 Granddaughter, Misha ADDRESS 4 119 Rochelle Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19128 CONTACT jqstockton@gmail.com E A R L Y D A Y S A N D Antioch—born in East Texas, then around the world in 15 years (via Chicago,Indianapolis, Philippines, rural Indiana); finally high school in New York and on to Antioch. Ran from a technical edu- cation (second year) to become a Renaissance person (i.e., bio/chem to elementary education). Lots of sports; avoided bridge and coffee until my senior year. Last co-op job was “own-plans road trip” west in summer ‘64 in a ‘57 Plymouth (with fins), rebuilding engine in dusty lot in Amarillo, arriving San Francisco just in time to share a flat with ten other people, then waiting tables for final 12 co-op credits (best paid job ever at Antioch!). POST-GRADUATION I went home to Long Island and spent a post-Antioch summer co-op job in a brand new Head Start center researching (for aYeshiva University professor) the development of story- telling techniques. Interesting, chal- lenging, and NOT a career. That September I discovered computer programming (after re- membering what Penny Storm’s sister had told me about her job “programming her way through law school working for the U.S. Treasury”). I started programming at Met Life in New York City in September 1965 (and 34 years later burned out after ending a “Year 2000 Repair” contract in mid-1999). In the meantime, life was rocky for a couple of years. I moved into the city (rent-controlled apartments on Lower East and Upper West sides). Interesting characters had shown up in my life, including Fred (artist, musician). I quit Met Life after nine months. Passion and mayhem ensued. Fred and I eventually moved to ru- ral Bucks County, Pa., where I sold correspondence courses and Kirby vacuum cleaners and waited tables while Fred made music and art, in- vited friends from NYC, and skir- mished with the law (shades of “Alice’s Restaurant”). I finally took myself in hand and high-tailed it into Philadelphia in December 1967. I’ve been here ever since. I lived in Center City for five years, Germantown for 13 years, and since 1986 have been in Roxborough. I live 1.5 blocks from the “100 Steps” (down to the Fairmount Park/Wissahickon Creek bicycle path) and two blocks from the best public transportation hub in the city. The houses on the other side of my street back up on Fairmount Park (my section of which has been compared to the Clifton Gorge and is famous world- wide for a rock formation known as “Wissahickon Schist”). “Dressed for Success,” ’84. My son, a “city kid” all his life, grew up roaming the woods with his friends and our dog, fishing and swimming in forbidden pools (so much for kids, cities, and concrete!). Living in Philadelphia has given me a solid base from which I have ex- perimented professionally, socially, and spiritually. Most of my professional life has been spent in computing. I worked 15 years for Penn Mutual Life in Philadelphia. Programming was like doing puzzles, a neat way to get paid. Next was 16 years with The Matrix Organization, a software consulting firm started by a former trainee of