One of the more enlightening things I’ve experienced about growing old is how your perspective on aging changes.
Remember in grade school, when your teachers seemed “so old?” And in your teens, when your grandparents appeared “ancient?”
If, however, you’re fortunate enough that the milestone years keep coming, they don’t seem as daunting as they once did. I think turning 75 remains a milestone—although to those who derisively call us “boomers,” it’s more of a millstone—but while I’m definitely on the tarmac, I’m hoping takeoff is delayed.
This is by way of wishing a happy 75th birthday to San Pedro High School’s class of 1969, in particular, my W’69 classmates, most of whom were born in late 1950 and early 1951. We’ve actually lived long enough to earn our class name, the Classics.
Personally, I feel a bit ambivalent about turning 75. On the upside, I’m healthy in mind and body (although some might argue with the mind part) and have plenty to be thankful for. However, there’s a significant downside to growing old in the town where you were born and raised: I’ve been to more funerals than I can count. I’ve also watched San Pedro change so much that I hardly recognize it anymore.
It’s why I might sound a little curmudgeonly sometimes (okay, a lot of times). Not the “Get off my lawn” kind of curmudgeon, but the “What the heck’s going on here?” kind.
This isn’t the San Pedro we boomers grew up in; it has changed so much and so fast, and when you have memories of what it used to be like, it’s hard not to feel upset.
As a counterpoint to that, I believe an even more meaningful milestone than turning 75 is my “rebirthday.” Fifty years ago in April, I became a born-again Christian. That made my recent completion of an advance directive, which deals with how my physical body will be handled when I near the end, much easier, knowing that my soul was taken care of in 1976.
Being a curmudgeon may upset some of my readers, but it won’t keep me out of heaven.
Now, more books by San Pedrans and about San Pedro, starting with memoirs that I somehow overlooked the first time around, and then some niche books. History and biography still to come.
Memoir
A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Female Athlete by Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Married her trainer, legendary San Pedro track coach Bobby Kersee.
Passing It On by Yuri Kochiyama. San Pedro native Mary Nakahara, interned during WWII, changed her name and became a world-famous civil rights activist and proponent of Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and Osama bin Laden.
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland. Famed prima donna is also the subject of numerous books on Amazon.
Shooting Star: From Dovrehallen to Toscanini, and Then San Pedro by Eva Gustavson. The late San Pedran was an internationally renowned opera star in the ‘40s and ‘50s.
My Gates of Heaven by Betty C. Buzzini. San Pedro native (1924-2007) who loved her hometown.
And Then a Rainbow by Mili Shimonishi-Lamb. Story of a San Pedro woman interned during WWII and deported to Japan postwar and how she found her way back.
Red Sky Morning by Andrew J. Rafkin. San Pedro native, famed for his action-thriller novels, recalls his days as a young fisherman.
Educational/Nonfiction
Graziella’s Table: 52 Simply Delicious Italian Recipes from the Amalfi Coast in English and Italian by Graziella Coccia. San Pedro author.
Social Media and Criminal Justice by Nicholas P. Lovrich and Xiaochen Hu. San Pedro native Lovrich has co-edited or co-authored 13 books on criminal justice, political science, and public administration.
The Green-eyed Monster in a Maltese Suit by Mark Tiffany. The first in a trilogy of books for young adults by San Pedro writer using dogs to teach valuable life lessons.
The Unmaking of the President, 2020 by John O’Kane. The latest nonfiction book by San Pedro publisher of AMASS Magazine.
Forever Judo by Hayward Hiroshi Nishioka. San Pedro resident, world-renowned martial arts practitioner, has written five books on judo.
Angels Gate: Based on a True Story of the Greatest Heist Never Told! by Andrew J. Rafkin and Louis Pagano. A rare venture into nonfiction by Rafkin, one of San Pedro’s most famous authors. spt
San Pedro native Steve Marconi began writing about his hometown after graduating from high school in 1969. After a career as a sportswriter, he was a copy editor and columnist for the News-Pilot and Daily Breeze for 20 years before joining the L.A. Times. He has been writing monthly for San Pedro magazines since 2005, and in 2018 became a registered longshoreman. Marconi can be reached at spmarconi@yahoo.com.
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