From what I heard at the time, Gary was suffering from a condition that affects the pituatary gland. He had received bad news from his M.D. shortly before he took his own life. No doubt he suffered from teasing, high school was a bad time in that regard for many.
as sad as it is remembering gary and phil it's nice to hear from everyone here. those were very powerful years for me and i'm guessing for everyone else too. it's good to reflect and process the past. does anyone else still feel 18 in their heads? a show of hands?
in our own way we are honoring their lives and the short time we all spent together. i hope their parents or siblings get a chance to read this and let them know that we all cared about their lives and are still saddened by their deaths 43 years later...
did anyone ever know what happened to jim blazek? i got to know jim a little in 11th grade...he was a great musician and quite a loner...
i'm still in touch w andy hingston and joel roberts...
oh well...nice to be in communication with you all.
Right you are Dick Bowen on Gary's condition, I had forgotten the exact cause. Rick Nowels, I bought a cheap-o Bass similar to the ones that you would find a Woolworth's from Jim Blazek probably around freshman year. He was a really good guitarist, I remember that his bands always played at LACY. He was one of those guys that already looked like they were in their 20's. Nice mellow dude.
Thanks for remembering Gary. I knew him since junior high. He would jog around the Egan campus every day. One time we (the girls and I) tried to jog with him and we couldn't keep up! Gary was in my geography class when he took his own life. We were all devastated. The question has always haunted me "what could I have done or said to help him? Unfortunately I and my family have lost 3 friends in the last year to suicide. Even through all of these tragedies I still believe in hope and the kindness of mankind.
You might have been in a hurry at the time but I am not sure you read my comment/suggestion carefullly. Here is what I wrote:
"The memories are important not only to honor people who were are friends but perhaps to motivate us to help others in need. Perhaps each of us can contribute to some form of charity that helps people in need .... suicide hot lines, Brady Campaign to reduce gun violence*, family counseling programs, etc. in the name of our friend.. Does not need need to be much and it could be either cash or a time contribution. Just some way of doing something good in the name of friends we remember."
The point was that there are a VARIETY of ways to honor our friends in a positive, constructive manner... including what I FIRST mentioned which was a donation to a suicide hot line.... also mentioned family counseling programs.
Bottom line... we can lament (which is legit) or we can actually try to be "part of the solution" which requires us to do something like volunteer or make a contribution. That's my message/request.
I read it all John - oh you forgot to include the asterisk footnote in your recent post. You said, "Reduction of gun violence is first and foremost an attempt to deal with suicide." As I stated in my previous post, blaming an inanimate object (gun) for someone's suicide is akin to blaming the kitchen knife when one cut's a finger dicing an onion. Suicide is more complicated than that.
I am a new member as a guest as of today. I attended LAHS as a student expecting to graduate in '72 but my family moved east at the start of my junior year. I have great memories of lots of classmates back then and still have some very close friends to this day. The reason I was so moved to comment today was because of the memories shared of Gary Garibaldi's death and reading the comments from several of my classmates. I was walking onto the campus that day when I overheard a group of guys laughing about the circumstances of Gary's death. I hadn't yet heard the news so I was devastated. Gary's locker was next to mine and we would see each other several times each day coming from or heading to the next class. Knowing how he was so verbally bullied at the time, I always made the effort to just say hi, or ask how he was doing. He must have been worried that I'd ridicule him in some way because he seldom responded. His death made a huge impact on my life and helped shape the way I went about interacting with those who were bullied in my years ahead. Right or wrong, there were times when I'd deal with a bully physically in defense of another; I always wondered if Gary might have not taken his life if he hadn't been bullied, or if I might have tried to be a better friend at the time. In the following years, I never wanted to allow another to be bullied in my presence for fear that they might take their own life. So, it is the memory of Gary after all of these years and the reading of these heart felt thoughts by several classmates that prompted my writing here today. It was very rewarding knowing that Gary was remembered so fondly by a bunch of people he probably wasn't even aware cared that much at the time. The effect on my life of Gary's death made a huge impact on how I guided my two sons in their way of dealing with those being bullied by others. My instruction to them was simply that you might not be a person's best friend but that the person knows they can count on you to have their back. It carries on to my grandkids as well. Hopefully Gary is able witness these sentiments from everyone who was around him in his short life. I believe he can. God bless you all for your sentiments. Tim Foley
Tim Foley, so nice to see you on here. I went to Santa Rita with Gary starting in 4th grade. He was always such a happy-go-lucky little fella, and could do more Chin-ups than all of the rest of us. Sophmore year Gary was in my Life Science class with Mrs. Talarico, and she was the one who broke the awful news to us. I used to see Gary out for a run even when he was in ill health on my paper route sometimes, and we'd always say "Hello" to one another. Life is fragile. Thank you for sharing your kind and caring thoughts on Gary.
Thanks for those thoughts, Eric. I only lived in Los Altos from 7th grade until the late summer just before 11th grade; just 4 short years. But in that time made some very close lifelong friends and lots of memories from experiences with great guys like you. As I tried to convey earlier, Gary had already made a lasting impact on me before his death because of his condition. His life and sad death are forever in my memory. Those were very impactful years for me, as I'm sure they were for you. So nice to hear from you. All the best. Tim
Richard Bowen
From what I heard at the time, Gary was suffering from a condition that affects the pituatary gland. He had received bad news from his M.D. shortly before he took his own life. No doubt he suffered from teasing, high school was a bad time in that regard for many.
Richard W. Nowels
as sad as it is remembering gary and phil it's nice to hear from everyone here. those were very powerful years for me and i'm guessing for everyone else too. it's good to reflect and process the past. does anyone else still feel 18 in their heads? a show of hands?
in our own way we are honoring their lives and the short time we all spent together. i hope their parents or siblings get a chance to read this and let them know that we all cared about their lives and are still saddened by their deaths 43 years later...
did anyone ever know what happened to jim blazek? i got to know jim a little in 11th grade...he was a great musician and quite a loner...
i'm still in touch w andy hingston and joel roberts...
oh well...nice to be in communication with you all.
rick
Eric F. Weitzmann
Right you are Dick Bowen on Gary's condition, I had forgotten the exact cause. Rick Nowels, I bought a cheap-o Bass similar to the ones that you would find a Woolworth's from Jim Blazek probably around freshman year. He was a really good guitarist, I remember that his bands always played at LACY. He was one of those guys that already looked like they were in their 20's. Nice mellow dude.
16 going on 61, over and out, EW
Susan M. Glotzbach (Schinsing)
Jim Blaizek lived in Placerville last we heard ,married to a social worker.
Linda S. Ciolli (Minor)
Thanks for remembering Gary. I knew him since junior high. He would jog around the Egan campus every day. One time we (the girls and I) tried to jog with him and we couldn't keep up! Gary was in my geography class when he took his own life. We were all devastated. The question has always haunted me "what could I have done or said to help him? Unfortunately I and my family have lost 3 friends in the last year to suicide. Even through all of these tragedies I still believe in hope and the kindness of mankind.
John J. Troidl
Rick,
You might have been in a hurry at the time but I am not sure you read my comment/suggestion carefullly. Here is what I wrote:
"The memories are important not only to honor people who were are friends but perhaps to motivate us to help others in need. Perhaps each of us can contribute to some form of charity that helps people in need .... suicide hot lines, Brady Campaign to reduce gun violence*, family counseling programs, etc. in the name of our friend.. Does not need need to be much and it could be either cash or a time contribution. Just some way of doing something good in the name of friends we remember."
The point was that there are a VARIETY of ways to honor our friends in a positive, constructive manner... including what I FIRST mentioned which was a donation to a suicide hot line.... also mentioned family counseling programs.
Bottom line... we can lament (which is legit) or we can actually try to be "part of the solution" which requires us to do something like volunteer or make a contribution. That's my message/request.
John
Richard Bowen
I read it all John - oh you forgot to include the asterisk footnote in your recent post. You said, "Reduction of gun violence is first and foremost an attempt to deal with suicide." As I stated in my previous post, blaming an inanimate object (gun) for someone's suicide is akin to blaming the kitchen knife when one cut's a finger dicing an onion. Suicide is more complicated than that.
Tim Foley
I am a new member as a guest as of today. I attended LAHS as a student expecting to graduate in '72 but my family moved east at the start of my junior year. I have great memories of lots of classmates back then and still have some very close friends to this day. The reason I was so moved to comment today was because of the memories shared of Gary Garibaldi's death and reading the comments from several of my classmates. I was walking onto the campus that day when I overheard a group of guys laughing about the circumstances of Gary's death. I hadn't yet heard the news so I was devastated. Gary's locker was next to mine and we would see each other several times each day coming from or heading to the next class. Knowing how he was so verbally bullied at the time, I always made the effort to just say hi, or ask how he was doing. He must have been worried that I'd ridicule him in some way because he seldom responded. His death made a huge impact on my life and helped shape the way I went about interacting with those who were bullied in my years ahead. Right or wrong, there were times when I'd deal with a bully physically in defense of another; I always wondered if Gary might have not taken his life if he hadn't been bullied, or if I might have tried to be a better friend at the time. In the following years, I never wanted to allow another to be bullied in my presence for fear that they might take their own life. So, it is the memory of Gary after all of these years and the reading of these heart felt thoughts by several classmates that prompted my writing here today. It was very rewarding knowing that Gary was remembered so fondly by a bunch of people he probably wasn't even aware cared that much at the time. The effect on my life of Gary's death made a huge impact on how I guided my two sons in their way of dealing with those being bullied by others. My instruction to them was simply that you might not be a person's best friend but that the person knows they can count on you to have their back. It carries on to my grandkids as well. Hopefully Gary is able witness these sentiments from everyone who was around him in his short life. I believe he can. God bless you all for your sentiments. Tim Foley
Eric F. Weitzmann
Tim Foley, so nice to see you on here. I went to Santa Rita with Gary starting in 4th grade. He was always such a happy-go-lucky little fella, and could do more Chin-ups than all of the rest of us. Sophmore year Gary was in my Life Science class with Mrs. Talarico, and she was the one who broke the awful news to us. I used to see Gary out for a run even when he was in ill health on my paper route sometimes, and we'd always say "Hello" to one another. Life is fragile. Thank you for sharing your kind and caring thoughts on Gary.
All the best, EW
Tim Foley
Thanks for those thoughts, Eric. I only lived in Los Altos from 7th grade until the late summer just before 11th grade; just 4 short years. But in that time made some very close lifelong friends and lots of memories from experiences with great guys like you. As I tried to convey earlier, Gary had already made a lasting impact on me before his death because of his condition. His life and sad death are forever in my memory. Those were very impactful years for me, as I'm sure they were for you. So nice to hear from you. All the best. Tim