Johnson, William (Mike)                                                      * Home

1965(Vestal Central HS)                                   2000(San Francisco)

 

Mike can be reached at michaeljtoo@yahoo.com  

 

 

 

  Commentator:  Bakk             ,  Whistle          ,  Lana  5/1/2000

Actually Mike kind of scared me - We were in Jr English class together and I can remember him staring at me with his "bedroom eyes" as the other girls

used to call them.  He seemed like a nice guy though.

  Commentator:  Brodsky         ,  n/a               ,  Gary  9/9/2000

People remembered Mike Johnson from history class. He passed I failed.

  Commentator:  Bull              ,  Vanderlip       ,  Candace  7/16/2000

Candy remembers Mike Johnson as a very much ladies' man. She went steady with Mike for a few months as a junior. She says Mike was her "ticket" to

the court of the Junior Prom (p. 82 of the yearbook). When they broke up, her depression worried her

parents because she lost so much weight. They sent her to the countryside to live with her Aunt for a few weeks. Auntie and her chicken dumplings got

her over her broken heart.

  Commentator:  Holden          ,  n/a               ,  Donald W.  6/19/2000

From Dick McCoy who talked with Don today: He was surprised that Mike Johnson has been "found" (no one knew where he was for many years).

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  9/19/2001

Another teacher I'm sure you remember well, Rich, was Elsie Cavanaugh (sp?). Thinking of Janet  Vullemier and the play made me remember her. Two

memories: Mrs. C. had some Okinawan friends, and

she wanted the Okinawan characters in "Teahouse of the August Moon" to do the whole play in Okinawan. Jack Williams, who was playing Sakini, just

flatly refused to memorize his entire part in a foreign language,

and several members of the cast were happy to follow his lead. (Remember this was for three performances, not two years on roadway.) Instead of

speaking Okinawan, the cast just jabbered away in nonsense syllables that sounded good to us.

The other memory of Mrs. Cavanaugh was about two years after we graduated. I was at Harpur, and I had what could be called a "Peter, Paul &

Mary"beard.

I ran into Mrs. C. at Dunkin' Donuts. She took one look at me and said, "Oh, no, Mike. What are YOU protesting?"

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  3/29/2001

 I was reading through other people's comments about our graduation ceremony, and it reminded me of a minor trauma. I was late for the rehearsal

(because then, as now, I was a clinical case of procrastination),

so I missed Mr. Mullen's instructions to leave our mortarboards on our heads during the national anthem.   When they started playing the anthem during

the ceremony, I snatched my hat off. I could see that everybody still had them on,

and people were looking at me with confusion. I -- Super Patriot -- decided that they somehow still hadn't heard that men were supposed to remove their

hats during the anthem. I started glaring at people – some of whom removed their hats.

I looked up to see what Mr. Mullen thought of all this, and he had his face buried in his hands.

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  3/29/2001

Regarding Brian Sorber:   One day school was cancelled because of an ice storm, so of course three or four of us went out

driving around on the back roads. The sun had come out, and I think we even had the top down on Brian's Volkswagon,

but every twig and leaf and blade of grass was coated with ice. It was as if everything were made of crystal. A memorable morning.    more later – I get too

wrapped up in memories and sit around staring at the wall.…

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  3/29/2001

Regarding Sheryl Frank (now Cole):  Jim Krestalude's note about her brother Leon's Carvel stand at 5 Corners reminded me of the complete trauma of

working there. I think that was my first real job –

the kind where you have to fill out papers. I worked there with Sheryl after school for a few weeks, trying to master that ice cream machine and the

technique of swirling ice cream into the cone. It was not just a matter of

squirting goo into a cone. The entire sculptured blob of ice cream sort of sat at the top of the cone. The cone itself was empty, if you were doing it right. If

the machine temperature was too cold, the ice cream wouldn't curl; if it was

too warm, you had a cone full of mush.   Leon had the magic touch, and tried to teach me, but I could never get the same results twice, and I would do

things like dropping the ice cream into the little sprinkles. Sheryl tried to cover for

me when she was there, but people in line at the window would shout at me to hurry up. The horror, the horror. I think I might have lasted about three

weeks, and bailed for some other job. I don't remember what I did next; I only remember that machine.

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  1/8/2001

In response to Lana Whistle's memory of me --  I was sorry to hear about Lana dying. I also was surprised to read her memory of me staring at her. I'm sure

I was, but the idea that it might be creepy never occured to me.

I transferred in to VCHS as a junior, and Lana happened to look very much like the girl I had left behind. I don't remember why I was unable to talk to her,

but I guess I thought I could communicate telepathically.

I wish had known her as a grown-up, because she seems to have been a very warm, kind person.

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  1/8/2001

I'm sending a recent passport shot. I am wearing dark glasses in every other picture I could find. Ironically, my hair looks like it did in high school in this

shot, but for most of my life since 1967 (and right now), I have worn longer hair.

In Hawaii I had a pony tail, but in SF it marked me as an old fart so I wore it short last year while I was job-hunting. Still pretty gray, though.

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  4/25/2000

Mike moved to San Franciso in December 99  and is now an editor of www.zulusports.com, per email to Rich McLean

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  11/25/1999

Still don't know for sure what I want to be when I grow up

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  11/21/1999

I'm in the process of leaving Honolulu and heading back to San Francisco. My wife Susan is already there.

(Remember the Blue Bird Diner, right near school on the Vestal Parkway? One night when I was maybe already

graduated (summer 1965?)  I was leaving there with some kids and we saw Mr. Wells in a booth with some other grownups.

We shouted, "Mr. Wells, Mr. Wells!" -- it was always odd to see teachers out in the real world -- and he peered out the window and emphatically gave us

the finger.)

Like all high school politicians, I was a complete jerk. Some say I still am. (referring to being Class President)

"Our whole family really should have gone into standup comedy." (Referring to antics of sister Rhonda, class of 67)

  Commentator:  Johnson(2)     ,  n/a               ,  William Michael (Mike)  11/21/1999

The good thing about a web site (for the Vestal class of 65) is, the whole class can read it and add to it, and then that will start another round.

Graduated from Harpur, joined the hippie migration to Berkeley, where Rhonda (Rava) and my younger brother David already were living.

Lived the shared-housing life and gradually worked my way into journalism and then into corporate communications whilst moving in with Susan, with

whom I have been since 1980.

Worked for a while with San Francisco State University (PR), then did in-house communications at HQ for Banana Republic and then The Gap. Fled

corporate reality and taught & wrote in Japan for a couple of years.

 The economy when we came back (1992) was in the dumper in California, so we settled in Honolulu. Now the economy has disappeared here, so it's back

to the city by the bay.

  Commentator:  Krestalude      ,  n/a               ,  James A.  12/14/1999

I've always wondered about Mike Johnson.  We were best friends in high school and I've only seen or heard from him once and that was 1 year after we

graduated.

  Commentator:  Sorber          ,  Spohn           ,  Joanne  4/27/2000

He still sounds the same as he did 35 years ago...do you think he's just as handsome? ( Or didn't you ever notice?!hahahahah)

  Commentator:  Sorber          ,  Spohn           ,  Joanne  11/11/1999

Mike used to be  TheShadow's vocalist, and he & Brian went to SUNY together.....til he moved. I know that he & Bri used to be good friends....but Brian

never heard from him again.

  Commentator:  Villon            ,  Johnson        ,  Rava(Rhonda)  11/11/1999

Brother Mike was class of '65 President. He currently lives in Hawaii as a journalist but will be moving to San Francisco in December.

 

 

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