| PETER RAFAEL ANDERSON, anderson49@earthlink.net Quit the seminary in 1969, went to work and live at Sacred Heart Parish, San Francisco. Helped Fr. Gene Boyle with his community organization activities; regularly sat in on lunch meetings with Boyle, Black Panthers Bobby Seale, Kathleen and Eldridge Cleaver, Mayor Joe Alioto, and Archbishop Joseph McGucken. The original motley crew! Taught religion at Stuart Hall School for Boys, SF. Guest lecturer one day was Bill Stokes, who lectured on "What Is Communism?" To fifth-graders. Go figure. The rich parents loved hearing about that guest lecture. End of teaching career. Moved into an apartment with Clint Reilly, who was working for Planned Parenthood. I got Reilly his first job in politics, running the campaign of Russell Miller for Congress. I know, you can blame it all on me for launching Reilly's career. We had this vision formulated in the seminary of getting good people elected to office. It worked for awhile – Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Dick Hongisto. Went to work on Treasure Island as chaplain's assistant, fulfilling my Conscientious Objector status during Vietnam. Became the first-ever bartender at Victoria Station, 50 Broadway, SF. Great way to meet chicks after eight years as a celibate seminarian. Lived in Sausalito next door to Suzanne Somers. I tried hard, but she was spoken for. Transferred to Victoria Station in Oakland where the A’s, Raiders and Warriors used to hang out. Got to know them as friends. I am a diehard Giant and 49er, but it was fun getting to know these unique characters who put together so many unexpected championship teams. Dated a gorgeous Playboy bunny from the San Francisco Playboy Club for six weeks until she finally admitted to me she was also seeing a guy named Upshaw for the Oakland Raiders. I ran like hell. Crazy days. Went to work in politics. While visiting Buz Meisel in Oregon when Buz was at Oregon State, we helped organize and promote Bobby Kennedy’s campus appearance when he ran for President just before his tragic assassination in L.A. I have never found a political candidate who ever came close to Bobby. I know he would’ve made a great President. Ran John Tunney for U.S. Senate campaign office in SF. Few years later, ran Tom Hayden for U.S. Senate campaign office in SF. Drove Jane Fonda, his wife, all over SF; followed one night by FBI as we jumped from one campaign appearance to another. Jane was a riot – great, bawdy Irish humor, loved to cuss. We had great conversations and many laughs. Married Kathleen Campbell; we have two extraordinarily wonderful sons, Gabe and Peter, both young adults who work successfully for a top-notch Manhattan software company, Articulate. Gabe and Jen made me a Grandpa in April 2011; little angel named Grace. Then a bubbly little boy named Finn Willie came along in December of 2013. Gabe and Jen met at Vassar, English majors; live in Saratoga Springs, New York. Peter is University of Arizona grad, lives in Sacramento with his wife of one year, Sierra, a very bright Columbia University grad who works for a very green Davis seed company. My sons are my best friends in the world. I am so happy that they found their soul mates and own their own homes. They were so much fun to raise. Never gave me problems. Their Mom and I have split, but still remain friends. We raised them Episcopalian, but were pleasantly astonished when they chose, on their own, to attend Jesuit High in Carmichael, where they both graduated. By wild coincidence, our former classmate Patrick Foley was on staff at Jesuit and put make-up on my son Gabe’s face prior to one of the school plays. Foley told me later he thought my son looked familiar, since he had also put make-up on my face when I played Captain Edward Fairax Vere in our production of “Billy Budd” at St. Joe’s many years before. I got into acting a bit -- worked in "The Candidate" with Robert Redford, and "Final Analysis" with Richard Gere and Kim Basinger. Had a blast, even though we were forbidden to make eye contact with Kim Basinger. I broke that rule. Became a daily columnist for The Sacramento Union; wrote controversial, thought-provoking columns that pissed off a lot of conservative Sacramentans; covered Jerry Brown for many years. I had an edge over other reporters because I understood him better because of our mutual seminary background. Interviewed him once for a cover story in Pacific Sun, a Marin weekly. We had a spellbinding conversation for a couple of hours on life, religion, politics. Then we’d run into each other around town at various gin mills – taught him how to play Liars’ Dice at Frank Fat’s one night while he arm-wrestled with my wife Kathleen. Herb Caen watched us from the bar and put it into his column the next morning! Spent eight years at The Union, then became a columnist in the county of my birth, Marin, and wrote a daily for five years for the Marin Independent Journal. Have had a total blast interviewing some fascinating celebrities who also became friends -- Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby (when people thought he was actually a role model), Ella Fitzgerald, Jay Leno, Jamie Lee Curtis, Liza Minelli, Lou Rawls, many more. Wrote two books on Marin County, same title -- "100 Faces of Marin." Coffee table books profiling the likes of George Lucas, Huey Lewis, Grace Slick, Carlos Santana, Clarence Clemons, Fr. Guido Sarducci, and others. Have co-authored three books on mentoring for kids, helping them get off drugs and alcohol, guiding them away from teen pregnancy, helping them stay in school and out of gangs. Most recent book I helped write (with Dr. Andy Mecca, former Drug Czar for State of California under Gov. Peter Wilson) is titled 12 Steps to 18 Holes, a light-hearted look at how we can apply the 12 Steps of A.A. to the crazy game of golf (the one sport at which I could never beat Joe Barile!) Went to work for Clint Reilly for two years, my old roommate, when he ran for Mayor of SF. One of the strangest and most exhausting experiences of my life. Currently contemplating completion of the book about that experience. Spent five years as Legal Secretary for Bill Bagley, former Marin Assemblyman and UC Board of Regents Member. Worked at 50 California Street, glorious view of SF from the 34th floor. Helped Bill finish his recently published memoirs. Fascinating work for the Nossaman Law Firm, a very progressive and governmentally influential firm. Recently edited the memoirs of one of the firm's senior partners, Kurt Melchior, an 85-year-old legal scholar who was associated with some of The City's most luminous legal minds -- James Martin McInnis, Melvin Belli, Jake Ehrlich, Nate Cohn, Bill Coblentz. (You can go to Amazon Books, click on Kurt Melchior, and his book pops up with my shamelessly glowing review.) Just finished co-authoring an autobiography by retired SF Judge Mike Berger, one of the founders of Delancey Street, who also represented families of the Jonestown victims and won for them a handsome award. I live alone in a cozy Sacramento condo and do my writing at home. I am a contributing writer for Inside Publications, a monthly. I think of my young friends from the seminary quite often, even though I kind of fell off the radar for a long time. I tried to live my life in the present, and I wasn’t into seminary nostalgia. I treasure the friendships I have that have withstood the tests of time. I am surprised that I remembered every name on the class list, and had mostly pleasant memories of each one of you. In my writing, I still use words from an old list I compiled of elite vocabulary given to us by Gene Strain, “Sarge.” Some of you may know that my sister Tracy married Mich Calegari, Pierre's brother. God rest Pierre. Unfortunately, Tracy and Mich split, but the family remains close and they have two wonderful children, Matt and Valerie. My older brother Michael was a Rhet when we were sixth-Latiners, and he is a well-known documentary filmmaker. His latest film is called "Tenderloin," about the SF neighborhood, and has been widely acclaimed. I have no idea why any of you would be even vaguely interested in my life -- upon re-reading it, I see there's still a lot of hubris and chutzpah in my veins, a deliberate rebellion I have always waged against the low self-esteem we were brainwashed to adapt in the seminary (thankfully, unsuccessfully) -- but Joe Barile urged me to participate in this Web site. Forgive me if it’s too much info, but several decades have trickled beneath the bridge. I am giving serious thought to writing a rollicking, irreverent, revealing and sometimes shocking book about my experiences as a fervent young seminarian, and if I can raise the funds, I will begin work at once. Novato attorney Bob Cleek, who was one year behind us, has been urging me to co-author a book with him on our seminary days. One thing my eight years gave me was an inexhaustible, raging hunger for life, and I am grateful for the life I have lived. Many mistakes, many triumphs, some heartache, lots of laughs, and ultimately, maybe some maturity. When I think about you guys, I realize we were a bright, tough, independent bunch of really good men, and I will honor your lives and stories as best I can when I write the book. Thanx for letting me check in and I hope I didn't bore you to tears. Hey -- any of you recall I was the Bear Captain? That was my greatest trophy from the seminary! I wore my block sweater with so much pride, even slept in it. Previous to that and before the seminary, I had been the 49er ballboy at Kezar Stadium just before Dan Fouts in the 50's -- complete thrill -- and I recall being mesmerized one day when 49er Matt Hazeltine told me I had huge hands for a 10-year-old and should be a quarterback! Just ask Joe Barile and Buz Meisel about our passing/receiving partnership that rivaled Montana to Rice and Taylor! We should have been Niners, Joe and Buz. God bless you all. Adsum. -- Peter |
 Married Kathleen Campbell; we have two extraordinarily wonderful sons,
Gabe and Peter, both young adults who work successfully for a top-notch
Manhattan software company, Articulate.
Gabe and Jen made me a Grandpa
in April 2011; little angel named Grace. Then a bubbly little boy
named Finn Willie came along in December of 2013. Gabe and Jen met at
Vassar, English majors; live in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Peter is a University of Arizona grad, lives in Sacramento with his wife
of one year, Sierra, a very bright Columbia University grad who works
for a very green Davis seed company. My sons are my best friends in
the world. I am so happy that they found their soul mates and own
their own homes. They were so much fun to raise. Never gave me
problems. Their Mom and I have split, but still remain friends. We
raised them Episcopalian, but were pleasantly astonished when they
chose, on their own, to attend Jesuit High in Carmichael, where they
both graduated.
(7/12/2016)
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