In January of 1970, growing somewhat desperate with darkness cold howling winds I started the Harvard Sunshine Club in an unused section of the Weld Hall basement. I put up heat and UV lamps, invited other Californians and a few Arizonans and Floridians, and opened club meetings with
All the leaves are brown
And the sky is gray
I went for a walk
On a winters day
I’d be safe and warm
If I was in LA
California dreamin’
On such a winters day
Went to a church, yes I did
I stopped along the way
When I got down on my bended knees
And I began to pray
You know the preacher digs a call
‘Cause he knows I’m gunna stay
He knows I’m gunna stay, I told him so
California dreamin’
Oh, somebody hit me now
I wanna go so bad, yeah
'Cause all the leaves are brown
And the skies are gray, yeah
I went for a walk
On a winters day, ooh
I’d be safe and warm
If I was in LA
California dreamin’
On such a winters day
Such a winters day
On such a winters day
Yeah, yeah, whoa
California dreamin’
California dreamin’
Gotta, gotta, gotta get some sunshine
Before I blow my mind
Gotta get some sunshine
California dreamin’
California dreamin’
Ohh, let’s go there one day
California dreamin’, ohh
California dreamin’
Got to get to LA
Friend of mine told me there’s sunshine every day
California dreamin’, ohh
My members brought tropical fruit punches, weed, funny hats, and all of them mats and beach towels. We warmed up and kept our tans and played the Beachboys and scatterings of others of the time. We ended the meeting all packed up to go back to reality and sang along to Dirty Water with gusto.
Captain, I also learned to solo sail at the MIT docks. Once, screaming along with my rear end pegged outboard windward when a sudden wind shift dropped my nether end into that dirty water, which water surgically removed my idiotically placed wallet…with my California Drivers License.
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