Greg Wilkins

I was in the Cub Scouts with Vincent.  His mother was our Den Mother, and our meetings were always at his house.  I lost touch with Vincent after our elementary school year's, however.  R.I.P. Vincent!  GW

Dennis had a sense of humor like Don Rickles.  He was a very funny guy.  Dennis played the tenor drum in the marching band at Millikan and also with the Long Beach Jr. Concert Band.  We both played in the Rose Parade during our senior year.  He transferred to LBCC and played tenor drum with me again in the marching band. Dennis was involved in a tragic car accident in 1970 which killed one of the LBCC pepsters that was a passenger with him in the car.  It was unbelieveably vey tragic and sad as the driver of the other car was under the influence of alcohol.  And to add insult to injury, the driver of the other car was the father of another pepster at LBCC.  Just heartbreaking to say the least.  Dennis was never really the same after that accident.  He visited me on Catalina Island in the late 1970's where I was living and working at the time, and he was a shell of his former self.  R.I.P.  Dennis!  GW

My mother was friends with Jim's mother.  I did not go to elementary school with him.  And unfortunately I remember a tragic incident when his sister was hit and killed by a car on Los Coyotes Diagonal not far from Wardlow Road.  I think I was atteding Marshall Junior High at the time.  Very shocking and sad.  I lost touch after junior high.  R.I.P.  Jim.  GW

I went to Cubberly Elementary school with Mickey.  Lost touch after that, however.  As a young kid I remember he had a really good sense of humor.  Mickey resembled a classic 1950's clean cut American young boy WASP appearance, almost worthy of a Norman Rockwell painting.  R.I.P. Mickey.  GW

Steve and I were in a rock band together at the end of the 1960's while at Millikan and briefly after as I attended LBCC.  Steve was our lead guitar player.  Steve Freed, who also attended Millikan was the bass player and I plyaed the drums as we all sang lead and backup vocals.  We mostly practiced at Steve Freeds' home in the garage.  At my house on Knoxville Ave., we seemed to attract not only the neighbor kids but also LBPD's finest who reluctanly told us that a neighbor had complained about the noise.  Apparently our musical abilities were not exactly welcomed by everyone within earshot.  We played a few gigs at the YMCA, the Canteen at El Dorado Park, and a bar mitzvah or two.  It was fun and I'm sure we thought we were much better than I am sure we were.  Plus, we were never under the illusion that fame and fortune were just around the corner.  Great memories though.  Greg Wilkins

I was lucky enough to know David after graduating from Millikan.  I met him through two brothers that I grew up with who also attended Millikan HS.  Kevin and Randy Vilensky.  Randy graduated from Millkan in 1970 as Kevin was one or two years ahead of us. It was 1971 and David took all four of us to Catalina Island on his Cal-20 sailboat.  David was very bright, rather quiet, and had a good sense of humor.  He had his head screwed on straight and was headed in the right direction to become a dentist.  Luckily we survived our cross channel round trip so that David could fulfill his destiny as a doctor.  The weather was terrific.  Maybe too good.  Upon our return trip from the Isthmus of Catalina Island back to Long Beach it took us over 12 hours.  The reason?  A lack of wind.  And to add insult to injury, we had very little fuel in the gas canister for the small outboard motor.  We nursed our way back with humor and naivete, but ultimately made it without alarming friends or family.  I wish I could share this wonderful memory with David at our reunion.  Greg Wilkins