Lakewood High School Alumni
Lakewood, New Jersey (NJ)
James (aka Two Crow) Schumacher
Lakewood High School
Class of 1962
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JAMES (AKA TWO CROW)'S PROFILE
| First Name | James (aka Two Crow) |
| Last Name | Schumacher |
| Graduation Year | Class of 1962 |
| Gender | Male |
| City | N/A |
| State/Province | NM |
| Country | United States |
| Occupation | Retired Oceanographer/Program Director/consultant |
| Married | Yes |
| Favorite School Memory | Graduation |
| About Me | James David “Beer” Schumacher’s Memories of Lakewood High Class of 1962 I am grateful for our 50th reunion and applaud those who crafted it. This celebration has given me the opportunity to look back with older wiser eyes, smile a bit, and release energy that no longer serves me. Since graduation I have undergone years of 12-Step work, professional counseling, guidance from spirit helpers/angels (what’s in a name?). The net result is an ever-evolving consciousness. This enables me to see that within the mysterious web of my life, I have purpose and I know who I am. My years at LHS provided a foundation for a portion of this growth, as well as for my intellectual growth. During my high school years, however, I was lost in an emotional morass, wore a cloak of toxic shame that tended to keep me separate, isolated. I was not comfortable interacting with those who honored academic success and/or made positive contributions to their class… I had to brand them as goodie goodies, the elite. I was blind to many gifts I received from faculty and classmates alike. In those years I choose to garner attention by causing disruption and/or playing the fool, being a punk. Since graduation the road I have walked has been long and winding with many self-imposed dead ends. My walk today is grounded in gratitude and in acknowledging all aspects of creation that feed my heart, mind, body and soul. What am I aware of now that I missed then? Here are a few stories of teachers that made an intrinsic subconscious difference in my life. These vignettes illustrate some of the gifts that I wasn’t able to see at the time. That they stand out in my memory today results from the reunion jolting my memory. In addition to providing positive character traits, I also acknowledge the academic aspect of my time at LHS. It provided a basis for success at the B.S., M.S. (both in physics) and Ph.D. (Marine Sciences) levels and in 40 years of professional achievement. Mr. I. Stein taught my junior year World History class. He had us follow the dramatic changes that were underway as the Belgian Congo became Zaire. The recognition that colonialism stripped regional Peoples of their language, way of living, spirituality and more was evident. Mass mayhem ensured as the rulers abandoned the Congo. Later in my life my adoption by Native American tribal members and a Maori woman brought the wages of colonial sin back into clear focus for me. The lessons from Mr. Stein’s class enabled me to be more present and compassionate with my new families. Thanks, Ira for helping me to become an informed and compassionate member of the human race. Mr. H. Saxon was both my geometry and homeroom teacher. I often disrupted homeroom and was not a star student. Around the time I was moving on to junior class he told me something to the effect, “you will never accomplish much in mathematics.” He saw I was wasting my academic abilities and had an attitude problem. I actively used his condemnation years later in graduate school when a course in advanced calculus was threatening me with failure. As an oceanographer I made extensive use of statistics and occasionally used analytical solutions for the equations of motion… Thanks Harry for the challenge! Mrs. M. Gold was my sophomore English teacher. Her passionate presentation of Elizabethan literature captured my soul. While my “Bad-Boy” self could not share my enthusiasm, a spark was ignited within my spirit. This encompassed more than a specific period of literature, expanding to the world of written expression and its power to communicate information and emotion. During my 40 years as a professional, first as a physicist for the US Army Electronic Command (Ft. Monmouth, NJ) and later as a fisheries oceanographer (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory/NOAA, Seattle WA) I used that spark to fire my production of 68 peer-reviewed journal articles several book chapters, two National Research Council reports and numerous ‘gray’ literature articles and project reports. Thanks, Martha for helping me to express myself (in written form rather than Madonna’s vocal approach). Mr. H. Gibbs was my mechanical drawing teacher. I though of him as a rather dull, unimposing guy, and thought there was little value to his course. I now see him as an example of a regular guy, a good citizen and a solid member of the community. I did not appreciate the value of creating a well-defined drawing prior to building. The value of structure goes far beyond building a physical structure and is now important to me. Without structure, without form chaos is likely to abound as occurred in Zaire when the governmental infrastructure was missing. As for being a quite contributing member of society, well, that is now where I can place myself. Mr. R. Guziejka was my senior homeroom, physics and qualitative analysis teacher. I thought he was trying to be one of the guys, a young egghead who did not know how to teach. In one class he set alight a candle (might have been a Bunsen burner), told us to take out some paper and write what we observed. I recall thinking, how stupid is this? Now I realize it was an opportunity for me to think creatively, to think without bounds. This approach allowed me to expound on processes from molecular diffusion to convection, to describe how the light created by the chemical process of oxidation spanned the visible spectrum, to consider the conduction and radiation of heat and more. My career was primarily observational, the compilation and interpretation of numerous sets of data. Thanks, Robert for the initial opportunity to do just that. Mr. E. Brandt was my health and gym teacher. I enjoyed his energy and sense of humor. Health class was a great laugh and perhaps I actually learned something. In our senior year I recall going with a few other students to his home to give him birthday gifts… perhaps a tie and after shave lotion? He was one of a few teachers that I felt a natural affinity to. It was in health class that he coined my nickname “Beer”. He was aware of my extensive drinking and I took that as a sign of honor. That name followed me through high school years and I was proud of it then. For the next 24 years however, alcohol and drugs inhibited any emotional or spiritual growth I might have undergone. Further, their influence destroyed two marriages, damaged my three children and two stepchildren, and fed both my ego and sense of deep abiding shame. Guided by an angel, on May Day (an international distress signal, quite appropriate I’d say) in 1985 I experienced my last use of drugs and alcohol. Ed, from your home in the world of spirit you can still call me Beer… thanks for giving me a story that is now fun and that I share at AA meetings. Having more clarity as a result of my journey of conscious evolution, I acknowledge and honor my experiences at Lakewood High School. I presently live in rural New Mexico with my awesome, wise wife Athena Rose Schumacher and trusted and fit dog, Mandy. We have a rich full life of service to a power greater than ourselves. My spirituality is based on the wisdom and principles of 12- Step programs blended with a rich portion of Native American traditions. By choosing to live with integrity and joy, I have made amends to all I can, especially my children. One thread that has been woven into the fabric of my life is humor. A scan of comments in my Pine Needle reveals that I was provided laughter and fun at LHS. For example: …Your remarks in that class made it really enjoyable; …one of my best and funniest friend; …your great wit & the way you helped keep spirit up;… you’re almost as nuts as I am but you got the brain; …and your sense of humor; … your sense of humor has provided me with many good laughs; …you really livened up our homeroom and the senior class. Although unknown to me, even then I was living my purpose. As the XIVth Dalai Lama has said, “We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives. If you contribute to other people's happiness, you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life.” I continue to do my best to bring the light of laughter and love to all I c...(read more) |
Class of 1962 Alumni and Other Nearby Classes
→ Reunite with 26 class of 1962 alumni that have joined.
Jeri Spagnuolo
Class of 1990
Delilah Maldanado
Class of 2008
Peter Crincoli
Class of 1999
Nathaniel Kelley Iii
Class of 1989
Jason Johnson
Class of 2002
Kineh N'gaojia
Class of 1990
Gertrude Clayton
Class of 1957
Redisha James
Class of 1992
David Adorno
Class of 1992
Christine Stuart
Class of 1988
Viola Sawyer
Class of 1984
Jeanine Etler
Class of 1990
Phil Russell
Class of 1979
Karen Simsen
Class of 1984
Jennifer Kaufaman
Class of 1994
Lewis Terry
Class of 1986
Nancy Johnson
Class of 1961
Louis Crespo
Class of 1982
Bianca Guzman
Class of 2009
Kristen Donnelly
Class of 1997
Giddy Kyriakoulis
Class of 1989
Danny Osborne
Class of 1985
Kenneth (scott) Smith
Class of 1984
Joan (joni) Lehman
Class of 1968
Recent Class of 1962 Reunions
Plan a Class of 1962 Reunion for Free
LHS All Alumni BBQ
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Jul 20, 2019
Description: LHS All Alumni BBQ Dear Fellow Piner Alumni, The Lakewood High School Alumni are coming together for a BBQ on July...(read more)
LAKEWOOD HIGH ALUNMI REUNION
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Aug 21, 2009
Description: MAIL CHECK PAYABLE TO: LAKEWOOD HIGH ALUMNI REUNION TO: KAREN SELINGER 14 TARA DR MATAWAN NJ 07747 YOU CAN EMAIL ME AT: ...(read more)