By the time I reached Grade Ten in high school I had lost all interest in schooling. Though my marks had not yet started to suffer too much I had definitely established a downward trajectory.
Then the oddest thing happened. Some time in December of 1969 (Actually, I think it was the 23rd) I took my first dose of LSD. Having already experienced the effects of alcohol, I expected the LSD experience to be similar but enhanced by cute little hallucinations of Blue Meanies and Strawberry Fields and Penny Lanes. Instead I went on a Magical Mystery Tour of unimaginable terror.
The trip lasted a good twelve hours and I would have never, ever, returned to the substance if the second half of the experience had been as terrifying as the first (Today, I would advise anyone considering the use of this substance to steer clear, especially if you value your mind. It is very dangerous). Instead, what happened was I became totally relaxed and had the most wondrous experience of my life ... it was truly mind blowing.
Thereafter, I had a strong desire to understand what had happened. I started reading books on philosophy and psychology and mysticism. My interest was strong enough that my peers got sick of me raving about it and gave me the derogatory nickname, "Socrates."
This interest in reading led to other books, like Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock," and stuff by Marshall McLuhan.
Finally, sometime during my employment as a sheet metal installer I picked up a book on the Universe by Isaac Asimov. As I read through it I realized that if not for the tenuous grasp of some phyisical concepts I had picked up through osmosis while sleeping through my Grade 11 physics classes, I would have had great difficulty understanding this book.
Knowing that I did not wish to spend my life installing kitchen and bathroom exhaust systems I decided to go back and finish Grade 13.
I had another falling out with my father in the spring of 1973 and he tossed me out of the house again. I ended up renting a room off an aspring rock star I knew... for fifty bucks a month. He had rented a house where all of the band members and roadies lived. This house ended up being host to a never ending procession of booze, pot and dope parties. The number of residents was never quite clear. Some people, like myself, actually paid rent... others would just show up from time to time and end up staying indefinitely.
Despite the never ending parties, "knives" sessions at the kitchen stove, loud music and monthly police visits I managed somehow to complete my Grade 13 and get the diploma.
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By the time I reached Grade Ten in high school I had lost all interest in schooling. Though my marks had not yet started to suffer too much I had definitely established a downward trajectory.
Then the oddest thing happened. Some time in December of 1969 (Actually, I think it was the 23rd) I took my first dose of LSD. Having already experienced the effects of alcohol, I expected the LSD experience to be similar but enhanced by cute little hallucinations of Blue Meanies and Strawberry Fields and Penny Lanes. Instead I went on a Magical Mystery Tour of unimaginable terror.
The trip lasted a good twelve hours and I would have never, ever, returned to the substance if the second half of the experience had been as terrifying as the first (Today, I would advise anyone considering the use of this substance to steer clear, especially if you value your mind. It is very dangerous). Instead, what happened was I became totally relaxed and had the most wondrous experience of my life ... it was truly mind blowing.
Thereafter, I had a strong desire to understand what had happened. I started reading books on philosophy and psychology and mysticism. My interest was strong enough that my peers got sick of me raving about it and gave me the derogatory nickname, "Socrates."
This interest in reading led to other books, like Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock," and stuff by Marshall McLuhan.
Finally, sometime during my employment as a sheet metal installer I picked up a book on the Universe by Isaac Asimov. As I read through it I realized that if not for the tenuous grasp of some phyisical concepts I had picked up through osmosis while sleeping through my Grade 11 physics classes, I would have had great difficulty understanding this book.
Knowing that I did not wish to spend my life installing kitchen and bathroom exhaust systems I decided to go back and finish Grade 13.
I had another falling out with my father in the spring of 1973 and he tossed me out of the house again. I ended up renting a room off an aspring rock star I knew... for fifty bucks a month. He had rented a house where all of the band members and roadies lived. This house ended up being host to a never ending procession of booze, pot and dope parties. The number of residents was never quite clear. Some people, like myself, actually paid rent... others would just show up from time to time and end up staying indefinitely.
Despite the never ending parties, "knives" sessions at the kitchen stove, loud music and monthly police visits I managed somehow to complete my Grade 13 and get the diploma.
It was 1974.