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When Michael entered his first semester there at Santa Clara it would prove to be anything but normal. He came aboard ship highly distracted in his studies with the initial filing against the state. Adding to this, Michael’s Civil Procedure Professor, Marc Poche, was to become one of the newly elected Gov. Brown’s inner circle of advisors. The cumulative onus of all of this prompted him to withdraw after the first semester.
Also, during the during the summer of 1974, a representative from the State Lands Commission headquartered then in Long Beach for this region, came to pay me a visit. He asked me to point to the exact spot where the alleged submerged pier piling was–the state had no GPS bearing on this monstrosity and has none to this very day!
For the next four weeks, Michael hobbled to class with the aid of crutches, carrying his books in a knapsack. He did eventually graduate with the rest of his peers and Ralph Nader was the featured speaker that day. He stayed in Isla Vista that summer prior to his entering the University of Santa Clara School of Law the following fall.
During that time, he enlisted the services of Marc and eventually a lawsuit was filed against the state of California, et.al. in October
of 1974.
Since there were no cell phones, Michael was eventually transported by ambulance somehow to the nearest emergency room hospital in Santa Barbara. The surgeon, Dr. David Davidson, did an excellent job, requiring over forty stitches in three layers. He was also the brother of John Davidson, the host of the popular TV show “That’s Incredible!” at the time!
Michael finally reached his destination and layed down his beach towel. He was now ready to rock-and-roll bigtime! With the speed of a 100-meter dasher his head entered the breaking waves with a mighty splash! To celebrate further he went underwater for a further saltwater baptism on this beautiful spring day. He now took a few steps backwards toward the shoreline. “Oh God!” he screamed.
It was Spring again in 1974 and Michael was overjoyed with the once-again emergence of the plant kingdom with all its burst of
the many-splendored colors and hues. Easter had just passed some thirteen days earlier and Michael decided to take a walk!
He was now in the midst of finalizing and putting the finishing touches on his senior thesis and he needed a break. He decided this time to venture forth to Haskell’s!
Without a doubt, Michael’s favorite teacher throughout his four years there was Marc McGinnes. There is no need to elaborate now about his background–one can simply google his name to get the full story. He most assuredly was instrumental in Michael’s understanding of the newly emerging embryonic environmental movement at the time. As fate would have it, he would prove to be a valuable resource in the months to come.
February 9, 1971@6:01am PST: Michael was jarred quite violently from his morning slumber in his second-story dorm room. The rattling lasted about thirty seconds. It was a devastating M6 centered in the Simi Valley. Governor Reagan later surveyed the extensive damage to the California freeway system.
And so, in late September of 1970, with a fire raging in the foothills to the east, Michael entered the Santa Rosa dormitories with his mom and dad. He was to embark initially on an intellectual journey into Chemistry and Calculus with his compatriot from North Tustin, Ira. Together they would listen intently to the revered Professor Pierce W. Selwood, who at one time had been an integral part of the Manhattan Project.