After graduating mid-term from Jones, I attended UH for a semester, and squeeked into Rice from the waiting list at the last minute. There, I started off in what they called the ‘science-engineering’ curriculum, but discovered after only a few month that it wasn’t what I expected or wanted. My friends from Jones will remember how much I loved to draw, and this led me to change my major to Architecture, which is where I stayed, graduating with a degree in architecture in 1967. Judy Getz and I were married that summer, which lasted 15 years (1982).
Being as how in
1967 you got your diploma in one hand and your ticket to the troopships in the
other, I entered USAF officer training that fall. In what must be one of the
strangest occurrences of the war, I was actually assigned to duty related to my
educational field, finding myself a ‘civil engineering’ (i.e. heavy
construction) officer at Plattsburgh AFB in upstate New York for the duration
of my tour of active duty. While there,
I learned to fly sailplanes and became rated as a pilot (private, not through
the USAF).
Following the
Air Force, we returned and moved to Bellaire. I completed my professional
apprenticeship requirements and qualified as a Registered Architect in
1972. By 1973, however, both my wife
and I had concluded that (1) our career potentials were severely limited in
Houston and (b) we couldn’t wait to get out of there and try something new
anyway.
We visited
Vancouver, B.C. on vacation in 1973, liked everything we saw, came back only
long enough to apply for immigration and sell up. Moved to the scenic community of Horseshoe Bay north of the city
of Vancouver in Aug., 1973. Acquiring
Canadian arch. registration, I worked for other architects until 1976, opening
my own firm in Horseshoe Bay that year. My firm continues to this day, still in Horseshoe Bay, now
operating as a home-based business. In addition, I have started a little
venture on the side designing and producing what we call "T-Shirts with an
Attitude"--our own line of shirts (www.gunwear.com)
as well as custom orders for clients.
I won a few design awards along the way, and got to do some
interesting architecture. Proving that the law of averages guarantees no
one an even distribution, in 1982 I was taking more flying lessons, was
involved in a crash, and was severely injured, taking 3 mon. to get back on my
feet and about 5 years to fully recover. That same year, my marriage to
Judy came to an end...but she was a psychologist, so that was inevitable.
In
1984 I met Helen and we were married a year later. The best thing that
has ever happened in my life, even including my discovery of Frank Lloyd
Wright, and that's the highest praise I know how to give. After seventeen
and a half years, we are still as happy together as newlyweds.
Helen
is an artist, potter, and teacher and is extremely athletic. She skiis
(downhill and cross-country), snowboards, cycles, jogs, swims, plays soccer and
tennis, and is locally adored as the neighborhood dog-lady (we have a golden
lab cross of our own, and enjoy taking care of friends' dogs when asked).
No kids (none with Judy either) but the dogs keep us busy enough. All of
this leads me a merry pace, what with Helen being ten years younger than me, but
I try to keep up by tent camping (no RVs, please), fencing and shooting (I seem
to have become mainly a weapons guy). My main hobby these days is gun
collecting/restoration, and some competitive shooting. I still love to
draw and remain interested in photography and filmmaking, in which I was
extensively involved throughout the seventies and up until my flying accident,
having made a number of short films.
It
is a truism that architects seldom retire...(a) they love their work, and (b)
they can't afford it. I probably fit in that category, but if I were to
retire, we would probably go traveling and camping around North America as we
have been doing whenever we could get away for the last ten years or so.
I
hope some of you '62 mid-termers out there see this and remember me. I'd
love to hear from folks like Vera Whitfield Wiatt, Norma Jean Tullos, Pat
Shine, Ted Shown, Mike Turner, Peggy Wood and everybody on the (green hornet)
bowling team, Jim Sandell, George Tilotta,...I could go on, but this is long enough.
My e-mail address is posthorn@telus.net.