The Professor and Friends

    Mayor went to San Jose for a lunch meeting with the professor(emeritus) of Geography from San Jose State.  He was a mentor of the Mayor, providing guidance and expertise through undergrad and graduate school a number of years ago.   We were joined by two other former students and had a fine lunch at the Flame restaurant on 4th and San Fernando sts., across from the SJS Library.
     Naturally, we talked about campus life, and how it has changed.  Mike, the prof, also gave us a nice recap of his sabbatical year when he traveled to New Zealand to teach and do some field research.  He talked about his visits to Guadalcanal and Bougainville islands in the Soloman Islands group where he spent time during World War II as a Marine officer with the 3rd Marine Division.   He described his visit to New Caledonia and compared it favorably to Hawaii.   He said it is rarely visited by Americans, but Australians like it quite a bit, visiting often and enjoying the nice beaches.  He didn't make it to Okinawa or to Guam, two other stops on his earlier South Pacific tour.
       He followed those stories with another that happened a few years later when in the Phillipine Islands doing research for his Phd.  The Korean War broke out and he could not get a flight home.  He had to wait for space on a ship(a few months); then endure a lengthy boat ride back to California.  The Marines wanted him back, but he was able to put them off owing to his current status as a father of two infant children!
       He is doing amazingly well at 92- a member in good standing of "The Greatest Generation".