I came to K. U. as a sophomore. I had attended a residential school from Kendergarden through the nineth grade. This was a very small residential school in Salem, Oregon. I grew up with a couple of dozen blind boys and girls. I was happy, well adjusted, and had lots of friends. When I left the school at 16 years I came to K. U. As you all well know K. U. was one of the biggest high schools in Oregon. I was used to having friends, but when I got to K. U. I had none. I knew my sister, who was also a sophomore, Sandy Rookenitch and Mickey Tobias both other blind students. They were a head of me so were not in my class. My sister, Lind (Mitchell) Hankins and I were in the same class because I was held back several years through my elementry years. Linda was very bright and got good grades. We both sang in the choir and LInda played in the orchestra as first chair violin. In my Junior year Chuck Bath asked me to join his band, "the Coachman". I had learn ed to play the guitar when I was 13 years old. I enjoyed playing for dances, but never got to dance because I was playing. I had done a lot of dancing growing up at the Oregon State School for the Blind. I look back on my high school with fondness though my three years at K. U. were the least happy of my life. I have observed kids of high school and junior high age since my graduation and I have observed that friends were probably the most important things in their lives. So having no close friends caused my high school years to be very lonely. Looking back I would hav tried much harder to make friends. At the time I was too immature and had no support by my parents to get out and do things and make friends so, I got good grades ( I graduated with a 3.6 GPA) and played music and enjoyed listening to the Pelecan Basketball team win the state championship on radio station KAGO. Bill Garard was the game announcer. One of my brushes with grateness was having Begi Brosterhouse as my lab partner in biology my junior year. Now that I am an adult I find it fun to get to know kids I did not know back in the day.