“The road often traveled: El Camino College”

Second Place "Tranquil waters" by Homer Hernandez
Second Place "Tranquil waters" by Homer Hernandez

Second Place
“Tranquil waters” by Homer Hernandez

“Of all the men that I’ve met,” Erickson later said, “El Camino coach George Stanich is as close to John Wooden as I’ve ever known.”

In Spanish “el camino” means “the road.” El Camino College has served as a sort of “road” for countless numbers of young people.

This is the story of the profound influences that this 2-year community college had on my life. The memories flood the inner folds of my brain as I think back on those turbulent times on college campuses in the 1960s. It was crazy enough everywhere, but exceptionally so in the art departments. That is where I spent most of my time, as I pursued a dream career in the graphic design field.

That is also where I began my “brushes with greatness,” and the associations with people who would change my life forever. The first occurred during semester one on campus, in my first class.

The opening impression of my life-drawing class had nothing to do with art. There was a vision of lust that walked into our room of easels. She was tall, curvaceous, blond. My eyes averted the upright obstacles and students to gaze as long as etiquette would permit at this beautiful girl. However, the semester passed without even a conversation to get to know her. She always came to class with a guy or two, went on breaks using the same pattern, and left with some other waiting escort disappearing on campus.

I was quite inexperienced with females. My unorthodox height probably did not help matters. Four years later my experience and confidence with women has risen to lofty proportions and fate intervened. She  entered my life again through the double-doors of a recreation facility that I worked at in Inglewood. She was still gorgeous, but looking slightly heavier and maybe not quite as stunning. Heads still turned abruptly at her entrance.

I leaned and whispered to the colleagues I had been talking with in the lobby, “See that girl? I will be dating her soon.”

“Carolyn?”

“Yes,” she answered. “How did you know my name?”

“We had an art class together at El Camino College several years ago, but you probably don’t remember me,” I continued. “I had a huge crush on you!”

This was the catalyst to a nostalgic conversation of our past acquaintance. During our cordial talk in the lobby, she invited me to her place after work.

When I entered her apartment later that night, she motioned for me so sit on the couch. She proceeded to sit right next to me. Before I said a word, she turned towards me, began to cry and shake uncontrollably, then laid her face on my lap. I was totally taken aback by this display of emotions, and could only hold her shoulders while she cried out the tears. When this outbreak somewhat subsided, I asked for some explanation.

What she told me lasted a lifetime, and it became just another lesson learned at that community college I attended at such a pivotal point of my life. She said that the comments I made about her when I first saw her in the life-drawing class were haunting. She remembered that time all-too-well and it just happened to be the beginning of the worst period of her life. Those boys I saw her with introduced her to drugs and alcohol. She slept with too many, got high with too many, and her life began spiraling downward and out of control. She had a child with one of those guys, who then abused her regularly. A couple of ears ago, she ended her questionable relationships, and turned to a more spiritual life with her young son. She was now clean of substance-abuse and other abuses, and had started a career as a graphic designer. These revelations bonded us immediately.

The lifelong lesson learned from this encounter was profound. When I first coveted this woman I thought (naively) that she was “too good” for me. It turned out that I would have been the very best choice for her, but I failed to assert the confidence and personality that I would later acquire. I was never intimidated by a woman’s looks again. Carolyn and I dated for six months.

El Camino College had other people who changed my life. Mr. Blusk, one of my design teachers, had a dynamic technique that forced everyone in his class to think. We had to put all our images and work on 8 x 10 pieces of illustration board. After we turned these assignments into him, he would hang them on the board in a row on the chalk tray during the day of his class critique. He had another trough at a level higher above that would hold the boards he would elevate periodically.

The upper row (which only included a small portion of the class), represented the ones he felt were exceptional, and worthy of high praise.

The ones he felt were poor, and/or likely missed the points of his initial instructions — he would proceed to knock ceremoniously on the floor with the utter distain of his body language. This exercise was traumatic for us mortal students, and cautioned us to think out our projects with great care so we could avoid this public embarrassment. This served as a strong incentive to design with greater thought and more meticulous detail. Thank you Mr. Blusk.

There were also famous professors and noteworthy alumni of El Camino Jr College. Julius Sumner Miller taught (1952-1974) in the Physics Department, and I often saw him in the halls. His presence was unmistakable due to his Einstein-type flying hair and his many TV appearances. Brian Wilson and Al Jardine of the Beach Boys both attended the school. So did Frank Zappa. Bo Derek graced the halls of El Camino, and the famous sports announcer, John Ramsey, also went there. Major League baseball star George Foster and LA Rams’ defensive NFL football player Fred Dryer also went to El Camino.

My most cherished and admired mentors was a basketball coach at El Camino for 37 years. Before that, he won a bronze medal in the 1948 Olympics’ high-jump competition. He was a two-time All-Pacific Coast Conference guard for UCLA in basketball. Most significantly, he was John Wooden’s first All American player. His name was George Stanich.

I played for Coach Stanich in 1966-67. Coach Wooden was one of the most revered coaches in the history of sports, and was beloved by his former players. He is often called the greatest coach of all time. Our team had the same sort of feelings towards George Stanich.

Stanich helped UCLA reach the NCAA tournament for the first time and helped Wooden win the first two of his 19 conference championships. Our coach again played a key role in helping shape UCLA’s run of NCAA titles by recommending to Wooden an unheralded but exceptional athlete who passed through El Camino. His name was Keith Erickson, later to star in the NBA. I played lots of pickup games against Erickson, and he was the toughest defensively that I ever faced.

Hall of Famer Bill Sharman, an All-American at USC during the same seasons our coach was honored, and said of him: “George was the toughest player I had to play against. He was faster and quicker and stronger than me.”

“Of all the men that I’ve met,” Erickson later said, “George Stanich is as close to John Wooden as I’ve ever known.” This comparison is. shared by most all of my former teammates who played for Coach Stanich. We held a reunion with our El Camino team and coaches a few years ago. We expressed to Coach how much his coaching and mentoring meant to us as young men. This tribute to our beloved Coach reached emotional peaks seldom experienced by me before or since. The last line of the movie, “Hoosiers,” says, “I love you guys.” That sentiment worked both ways for us Warriors of El Camino under Coach Stanich.

The word “great” is definitely overused, but my “six degrees of separation” brings me close to the greatness of coaches Wooden and Stanich. In between is the thread of El Camino College. Our revered coach still lives within walking distance of the school. He is 86 now, and has been married to his wife for over 60 years. I spoke to him on the phone just several days ago, and he is as sharp and engaging as ever. Many years ago he taught me about the value of character, hard work, and dedication to whatever I was to endeavor in life. Those lessons have remained a lifetime.

Robert Frost wrote of the “road less traveled,” but I took the one many have followed. El camino that I walked diverged where I could meet strong inspirational figures along the way. That has made all the difference. ER

 

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