Actually they withheld his diploma until he did some make up class in the summer because he had too many lates for his first period, physical education class. I assume he was surfing early in the morning. I remember meeting with the teachers. They had a really snarky attitude about the whole thing but rules are rules and he complied.
He actually had good grades in his classes. He had this ability to remember what he heard and he loved to read. His handwriting was always a little difficult but he did have good English. Thank heaven he had an excellent freshman teacher who really emphasized grammar and spelling. I had asked him to switch from his honors class to basic English and it was a very wise move. He was later able to be a tutor in UCSD because of his grasp of good English.
John's favorite mode of dress was his swim trunks and a shirt.
The boys had converted the playhouse to a room in which they could glass surfboards. This became a very important part of his life. I wasn't too happy though when he used my wedding quilt to spread out on the lawn and spray his boards on.
This was his favorite board. One of the things John and his friends did which I was not aware of is to go out to the Del Mar Races and learn about horse betting. John was always such a conservative, I am not sure he would really take a chance on losing his hard earned money that way or not but it was an exciting adventure for them I understand.
He and his surfing friends used to come to our house after school and we would make Indian Fry Bread and honeyed butter. That was so good and the younger children loved listening to the stories the boys told. None of them were much into girls yet but they had a lot of fun surfing together.
