We have discovered the fountain of youth. No pills, no shots, no yoga, no prayers. We’re simply giving one-hour talks in high schools—Peter on World War I, John on U.S. taxation. The talks have been warmly received by students and teachers, and are enormous fun for us. Most remarkably, we’ve stopped aging. So we thought we’d pass this magic formula on to any of our fellow UC Berkeley alums who might wish to live forever.
Some background: The two of us met in Palm Springs a few years ago, where we and our Cal alum wives winter—Peter and Betty from Twain Harte, California; John and Gretchen from Amherst, Massachusetts. Peter has filled many roles for Cal over the years, including as a successful major recruiter of high school students, typically Hispanic, in the greater Palm Springs area. He has always had an interest in U.S. history, probably inherited from his mother and father, with a special interest in the first world war. World War I memorials abound at Berkeley—such as the California Memorial Stadium and the stone bench outside the entrance to the Campanile—reflecting the sadness caused by that tragic and transformative event.
After 20 years practicing law in Washington, D.C., John moved with his family to Amherst, became counsel to his D.C. firm, and began teaching a one-semester seminar on U.S. tax history and policies at Mount Holyoke College. John had become convinced that the monstrously complicated U.S. tax system was attributable in part to the failure of our education system to teach Americans how to think about a fair and sensible tax policy. His students were undergraduates from across the curriculum. Yet most of them thrived. Twenty-five years later, John now has turned to talks with junior and senior high school students who are studying U.S. government and economics.
“Are you a sub today?” asked a student of Peter’s as he waited for the World History class to begin; he probably thought this old man would be a pushover as a substitute teacher.
John teaches a subject, U.S. taxation, with at least as great a potential for eye rolling.
Peter Van Houten (’56, B.A., ’62, M.A., ’73, EdD) and John Fox (L.L.B, ‘60), say they like feeling that their talks stimulate students to think critically about history and government policies. They hope other alums will jump in too. To learn more about their “anti-aging experiences, “you may reach Peter at pvanhcal@att.net, and John at johno.fox@comcast.net.
One in a series of personal Perspectives. We invite writers and readers to submit their own essays—inspiration can come from California magazine or California Magazine Online stories, the news, or issues of the day. Read more: