The Eighth of December

In the fall of 1974, about a week after I had moved into on-campus housing at Sonoma State University, I walked from my apartment to the main building to check for mail, then re-traced my steps to go to my car. My route skirted the pool. Many of my classmates were enjoying the California sunshine. That early in the semester few had coursework to shackle them to their desks, and these were the days before the dire warnings of skin cancer sounded a deathknell to the fashion of getting a “health...