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RP: You attended Bishop High School and graduated there?

DB: Did I?

RP: Yeah.

DB: Yes, I can't say that I was valedictorian, but...

RP: What were your interests at that time in terms of...

DB: Well, I wasn't best athlete that Bishop had. But in the world of track and field I probably held more records, more individual records at one time than anybody else.

RP: Were there particular events?

DB: Well, if you needed a hundred yard dash man, I could do it. If you needed a half-miler, I could do it. If you wanted me to run the mile, I'd probably run it but I don't know how well. But I'd participate in all the running events and was very successful. Successful enough that I went on to college and was a college letterman there. And, I am in their hall of fame which is, right now we're up to fifty outstanding track and field athletes.

RP: And which college would that have been?

DB: It would have been Occidental College. And...

RP: Just to follow up on that, your success in high school, that help in terms of getting acceptance from your peers? How was your high school experience relating back to your grammar school, earlier grammar school experiences?

DB: Well, the, I guess the thing about it is that while in, in grammar school, I confronted it verbally. In high school it wasn't as common but when it did, it's a little hard to be mean or whatever was happening in that early part of life's career. I decided that I was gonna be the best in everything that I attempted to do. And it was my determination that if I was number one, people would respect me and I would eliminate these kind of relationship problems. And fortunately I was correct. I began to be looked up to rather than looked down to because of my physical success. And I think also an attitude. I used to be proud. Originally I... I couldn't handle it. But as I got older I realized that there's fun to be successful. So I just worked a little harder and that was, that was a great time in my life.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.