Who remembers? It had a soda fountain and lots of penny and nickel candy. I would walk to school every day with my lunch and a nickel in my pocket that mom gave me for the milk machine. I'd stop at in the drug store sometimes and spend that five cents on five pieces of Bazooka Joe bubble gum. Those who knew me, and who didn't like walking so much, would pay as much as a quarter for one piece of that gum. That was when I was in the fifth and sixth grade at the old Orinda Union School. Oh, and how about that old cigarette machine that teachers could buy their smokes from and the little children could too for a quarter, if and when no one was looking. Life was grand, and Orinda was wide open. I wasn't very old, probably ten or eleven before I had explored every inch of that sleepy little town and everything surrounding it. I had unending adventures in the hills that would soon become the home to the Briones reservoir - that was a cool time too, what with those big earth movers, they were a blast to drive. And the golf course, that was my domain and short-cut to all points east, and south, and north. And who can forget Barry (rip) and his blasting caps. We were in Pine Grove school then. That incident made Orinda a national safety poster community. It was frightful how those adults fretted about the idea of children playing with blasting caps. No one died from it, at least. (Hey Mark, are you out there? Remember the pipe bomb that blew up in your folks house? And how about you Tom and the fire in your garage? Man, we got stupid sometimes.) And Randy, remember what your Happiness was in the our H.S. yearbook? I sincerely hope it didn't follow you for life. I don't live in Orinda anymore, and haven't in many years. I noticed a few years back, that the Moraga Barn is no longer there. What a shame. It should have been made an historical landmark. A lot of famous people got tanked there, you know. (If you want to know who, say so yourself.) I still love Orinda. WB