The Scenic Route

1
The Scenic Route

• Jon Scop
• jscop_at_telus.net
• LIBR 500 Foundations of Information
  Technology

This is an actual sign on a remote trail to
Anniversary Glacier, near Joffre Lakes east of
Pemberton.
2
Foundations of me

• My parents, Clarice and Paul, pre-me.

At my absolute peak of cuteness it was all
downhill from there.
I was born in New York City in 1954, but soon
moved to the concrete wasteland of Anaheim,
California, where I knew I didnt belong.
But I made the best of it. Here I am, several
years later, as student body president of Anaheim
High.
3
Escape from Southern California

• I moved to Petaluma (north of San Francisco) in
  1976. Cameras used to be capable of making
  double exposures if you didnt advance the
  film. This one was accidental, although
  appropriate considering the times.

Along the way I managed to get a BA in psychology
and a teaching credential with an emphasis in
Early Childhood Ed., from Sonoma State
University, otherwise known as Granola Tech.

• I never taught professionally, but did work with
  kids for a few years, something I never let go,
  as I now would like to work in childrens
  services. Gee, the kid in this picture must be
  30 by now.

4
Playtime

• For a brief moment, I must have had rock-star
  delusions.

I was part of an English Country / Morris Dance
troupe at a Renaissance Faire for a bit.

• . and a few years later, at the same Faire, was
  part of Danse Macabre, otherwise known as The
  Bones Band (thats me on the right).

5
Wilderness

• Whether through backpacking, hiking

or the rather expensive habit of whitewater
rafting

• being in the wilderness has always nourished
  me.

6
La musica

• Music feeds my soul. Lots of different kinds,
  tastes which ebb and flow

Jazz Afro-Cuban Brazilian Andean West
African Zimbabwean Folk Classical even some good
ol rocknroll
At the moment Im doing time with East
Vancouvers Carnival Band, a wild, ragged
assortment of horns and and percussion. Youll
be able to link to the bands website on the last
page of this presentation.
7
Expanding horizons

• Ive had the privilege of traveling, mostly in
  Latin America, visiting most countries in the
  Western Hemisphere. A few highlights

I spent time in Nicaragua in the 80s, when
people actually felt some hope. I was there for
the fifth anniversary of the 1979 revolution.
The least I could do was to give something back.
So I picked coffee with a brigade of
over-enthusiastic gringos. Im sure we looked
rather silly.
8
Guatemala

• Guatemala is simultaneously the most beautiful
  and the most tragic place Ive ever seen.

9
Brazil

• And then there was the giant pressure-cooker of
  a country, Brazil, where Carnaval lets off the
  steam of millions.

10
Getting in trouble

• Whether it was blockading the Livermore Nuclear
  Weapons Lab

• or confronting a cop while protesting Americas
  brutality in Central America

there was always time to get myself arrested.
11
Law school

• In my late 20s I decided that I really had to
  get serious, so I found myself at Hastings
  College of the Law in San Francisco, where I
  managed to graduate and pass the bar in 1986.

I still couldnt keep my mouth shut. Here I am
speaking at a rally at Hastings, urging the UC
Regents to divest from apartheid South Africa.
12
Immigration law

• So I finally had a real job. Not one that
  really paid.

. as most of my clients were low-income Central
Americans fighting deportation, courtesy of the
always-nasty INS.

• My most interesting case was the huge, extended
  family of Surinames most prominent human rights
  activist. They were granted political asylum.

13
True love

• In 1994 I (finally!) met the love of my life,
  Elizabeth Barnes. We met in a book group! We
  were married in 1995, and moved from Oakland to
  Portland in 1996.

Here we are in BC last summer, after following
that sign on the title page.
14
Mandelbrot 2
Elizabeth is an artist and educator. Heres a
sample from her Vancouver and Calgary galleries.
Harmonic
Trine
Nautilus
Luca
Ghost Dance
There are links to two galleries featuring
Elizabeths work on the credit pages of this
presentation, so you can enlarge these and take
your time.
15
Clarice!

• On April 14, 1996, we were graced with Clarice
  Margaret Scop, who, in my unbiased opinion, is
  the most wonderful girl in the universe.

16
Clarice becomes herself

• Exploding in all directions!

piano!
track!
theatre!
soccer!
and good ol political activism
17
and now shes at that wonderful
elegant-young-woman but not-quite-a-teenager
stage..
Oh, did I mention that shes always reading? And
that before I even contemplated SLAIS, she
eagerly became a library monitor at school?
18
So now what?

• Good question! Only time will tell.

• In 2005 we immigrated to Canada!

• I happily said goodbye to law practice.

• . and perhaps one day Ill be a librarian!

• Stay tuned.

19
Credits and links
All the photos except one (well get to that) are
personal. Images of Elizabeths work are
provided courtesy of the artist, with permission
of Winsor Gallery of Vancouver and Herringer-Kiss
Gallery of Calgary. You can see more of
Elizabeths work as well as link to the
galleries home pages at http//winsorgallery.com
/artists.php?artworkbarnes_15
and http//www.herringerkissgallery.com/artists/ba
rnes/barnes.html .
You can link to The Carnival Band at
http//thecarnivalband.com/home.html .
Finally, the photo on the Immigration Law page
(slide 12), of the guy being hauled away by La
Migra, is courtesy of. La Migra! Yes, US
Immigration and Customs Enforcement thats ICE
to us mortals gives its express permission to
use its images, AND tells us all about how it
collects personal data on anyone visiting its
site (isnt that sweet?). That information is
here, if youd like to reveal yourself http//www
.ice.gov/about/legal.htm. Image U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE News
Media Gallery, August, 2006 (2006). Retrieved
September 27, 2006, from http//www.ice.gov/images
/060822escort_lg.jpg.
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