FRANK BONACCORSO (THE BATMAN) REDISCOVERED
(Ed. Note – This bio with photos was so filled with news, humor and nostalgia that it is being included in its entirety)
I have been found by Claudia through the miracles of the internet. I only learned about the details of our 40th Reunion today. Not one to hesitate, I will be searching for flights from Hilo, Hawaii, to LA, and if I can find an affordable airefare, then wild horses won't keep me away from this Reunion. I have thought about many of my classmates over the years but whenever there has been a reunion, I have been working in Europe, or South America, or Papua New Guinea (where I had a wonderful job for 7 years as Chief Curator of Natural History at the National Museum and Art Gallery in Port Moresby).
I am no doubt the blacksheep of the Alemany Family. I have seen very few of my classmates over the years (aplogies guys), and have not stayed in one place too long after earning my BA at UCLA (along with Jim Coffee and John Preble among others) and my Ph.D. at the University of Florida in 1975.
My profession, wildlife biology/tropical ecology has given me special privilege to be paid to explore the world and work among rare animals. I have done most of those crazy things you have you have seen on the Discovery Channel, wrestled with boa constrictors, had the black rhino nearly impale my car, had the sea lions in the Galapagos swim through my legs, had a scorpion nearly hit the family jewels, been bitten by vampire bats. I have worked on all the continents (except Antarctica) and quite a few tropical islands on terrestrial and marine mammals, birds, insects, and plants. Among my great thrills as a naturalist/explorer has been being part of the rediscovery of a population of a rare dolphin (snub-nosed dolphin) in river mouths of Papua New Guinea, also a three week cruise to study sperm whales (whale breathe is bad!) on a 94 foot schooner with fancy echolocation gear, again off New Guinea in the Bismarck Sea, many years of research on fruit bats in Kruger National Park, South Africa, where I have been chased by elephants and rhinos repeatedly......well the list could go on for awhile.
While in Kruger National Park, South Africa. I posed with the tusks of my african nemesis, the elephant, outside the camp called Olifants in Kruger. I take volunteer assistants to Africa if anyone is brave enough.
My research experiences and near escapes from elephants in Africa will form a contributed chapter in a book titled, "Moonlight Reflections", to be published soon by the University of Colorado Press (Rick Adams, editor). Check out my book, Bats of Papua New Guinea, on Amazon.com -- hardly a best seller -- but well received by my "batmen" colleagues. I am best known to biologists for my studies of tropical bats, especially the big bats known as flying foxes and which when raised as orphans are gentle as puppy dogs.
At age 35, I discovered I had some talent at running fast middle distance and entered the world of Master's Track and Field and Road Racing as a member of the Florida Track Club. The FTC club was started by olympic marathon gold medalist, Frank Shorter, in Gainesville, Florida., while I was in grad school. At age 41, I ran a 4:41 metric mile (1500 m on an indoor track), much faster than the 5:00 mile I ran on the Alemany track in PE class as sophomore. Coach Vanni would not believe I ran 5 flat when he was recording times after eveyone finished their run in PE that day until I got Dale (Pat) Dolan who I ran beside all the way to verify. I was really sensitive and hurt by this and as a result I never went out for track at Alemany much as I regret it now. In 1989, I represented the USA running the steeplechase in the World Associaton of Veterans Athletes Games (5,000 athletes in a week of competition) at the revered track at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Our Alemany classmate and my best friend, Bill Danaher and his family, were in the grandstands cheering for me. I finished 4th in that race, however, on the second lap, I took the lead for two laps after an Indian wearing a white turbin hit one of the steeple barriers and crashed on the track. With me in the lead wearing a USA team singlet, the crowd went wild cheering U-S-A for me and stamping on the wooden grandstands. I can still hear Bill Danaher, who lived next door to me in Mission Hills on Kingsbury Street, cheering for me. I have won a few medals competing in New Zealand, Australia, and the USA in various Master's Games including a gold medal in the mile road race down the main street of Alice Springs, Australia. This race occurred in 90 degree heat with 10% humidity and after winning four silver medals in those Games, I decided to go for broke and push the pace in my final race. I led the pack from start to finish, but only barely he! ld on to win.
During a decade of teaching biology at the University of Florida's P.K. Yonge Laboratory High School I coached both girls and boys cross country and track and field with some success at turning out state individual champions in distance running. I also volunteered at the UF Gators track and field meets and as "clerk of the course" got to lead many Olympic champions to the starting line for races at UF meets. I am still running, but little niggling injuries have kept me from training hard the past two years in Hawaii. Mostly, I run for fun now enjoying the scenic landscapes of Hawaii and mentoring young runners. Anyone for a run in Hawaii?
I have great memories of Alemany and many of you Indians in the class of '66. A little known fact, I guess I can tell now, is that the night of graduation, I joined Art Fonseca, Bill Danaher, Tim Jordan, and Dave Nehen (I believe that was the group) on a midnight raid to TP the trees outside the nun's convent at Alemany. We must have thrown 20 rolls of toilet paper that night.
Does anyone remember hearing the Association ("And Then Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish") at Grad Night for Disneyland? I probably was the most shy and backward boy at Alemany when it came to girls -- my first real date was our Grad Night at Disneyland when the stars were finally aligned right for me and circumstances just worked out such that a lovely girl happened to coax shy Frank into ridding with her on Space Mountain. Thanks for a magic night in the Magic Kingdom CH! I still have our photo from Grad Night. Ohhh, what secrets I am revealing. My saddest day at Alemany, was the day President Kennedy was assassinated -- I was in English class with Father Rath when he broke the news to us. It was remembering the strength and guidance of Father Rath through that horrible day helping us sophomores to understand trajic death. More than 20 years later when I was teaching high school in Gainesville I had the strength and perspective to console my biology class about the Shuttle Challenger explosion in part from lessons of example from Father Rath. Gainesville is close enough to Cape Canaveral that by going outdoors to the top row of our football grandstands I could show the students the contrails left by Challenger well after the explosion.
Does anyone remember doing the "Freddy", if I can do the "Freddy" with Grandma Barb Broeski (who I remember loved that dance), I will be at the Reunion.
My current office is 100 yards from the rim of the Kilauea Volcano caldera on the Big Island of Hawaii. If the volcano blows, Frankie goes up with it. I work as a biologist for the US Geological Survey and lead a project to study the ecology of Hawaii's only native land mammal, the Hawaiian hoary bat. I would love to show any of my Alemany classmates a world class volcano and the land and seacapes of Hawaii if you come to the Big Island. I still am having so much fun at biology and trying to have a small impact on saving endangered animals around the world. Mr. Diaz and Coach King were inspirational in leading me to a science career. Coach King, I forgive you for always calling me, "Bonaccorso, you dildo" whenever I became tongue tied in German class -- which was my first period freshman class -- Art Fonseca and I managed to talk our way out of ever taking Latin! How many of my classmates can claim that?? Coach King you are the greatest and like Dan McMahon enjoying being called Capt Dan by you, all of us in German loved being ridiculed by you in your Don Rickles style of humor! Coach K, I apologize for all the times I stunk up the chemistry stock room with crazy experiments when I was one of your chem lab assistants our junior class year.
I have been so fortunate that at every step of my education -- Alemany, UCLA, and Florida-- there has always been a very special teacher that took an interest in me and pushed me to be the best I could be. I have taught classes in high school, community college (including one course in a minimum security prison in Florida), as well as university undergraduate and graduate courses for Maryland, Duke, Florida, Miami, Maine and Wisconsin (told you I get around) and I feel I have had a little impact on many of my students, in part to return the blessings I received from great teachers and in part because it is a great vocation. So here is a salute to Mr's Graci, King, and Diaz, Fathers Rath, Tona and Weber, Sister (I am having a memory lapse -- our chem teacher -- someone help me here) and all the rest for making Alemany in the 60's a very special place.
I especially like to take photos of animals that blend in with the environment and at first glance seem not to be or that show as aspect of the animals behavior as the case with the bulbul (top left) that has just pollinated an aloe plant and in doing so has itself really dusted with the orange pollen across its face, the head of the bird really is black. The second bird is a lilac-breasted roller which is the ultimate bird in pastels. The little steenbok antelope in the tall grass is nearly invisible. These three photos are from Kruger National Park in South Africa.
See ya all in Granada Hills.......wonder if anybody will recognize me? (Ed. Note: They certainly will after this posting,)
