User:Timothy5123

Don T. Bonner Don Bonner is a man in his mid fifties. While his age may suggest that of a mid to elderly life man, the attitude he caries is still that of fresh and youthful mind. Upon discussion he stated that he wanted to still take advantage of every second in every minute in every hour of every day. The passion in his attitude makes this statement very apparent. He carry’s himself in a manner of a man with many life experiences in which he has learned a great deal about life and himself. But what is so unique is his quest to still experience so much more.

He was born on July 23rd in the mid 1950s, upon inquiry of the exact year he was hesitant to give it. Perhaps he was concerned that the date would make him accountable to some actions that would make him feel more his age. He was born in Aliceville Alabama, and moved to the San Fernando Valley in southern California when he was 7. His persona and personality was deeply embedded with the California mind set. He attended school in Ca all the way through high school. After graduating at seventeen he spent a year in Europe. Upon returning to Ca he attended the Los Angeles Peirce College. He then moved to Prince George British Columbia Canada and spent a year examine Canadian culture. He then returned to Ca again to attend the Brentwood Art academy and Columbia College. Growing tired of the same things he left for Europe to spend the next year. After returning to Ca again he chose to finish school at UCLA. While he was attending school at UCLA he was able to become an assistant publicist for the Bill Waters and Associates public relations firm in West Hollywood. This was in the early 70s and gave him many opportunities to meet many of Hollywood greatest stars and starlets. He talked of glamorous parties with the likes of Andy Warhol and other names that stood as a time piece in Hollywood culture. At this point he lived in laurel canyon in Hollywood; he spoke of it as an “artsy fartsy” community that had a large hippy overtone. His stories were that of free love and experimentation. One story that comes to mind was of a party that was in castle as he described it. He explained how everyone came into an elegant ballroom and had dinner as any other dinner party would go. At the end of dinner everyone disrobed and began to have what many would describe as an orgy. Drugs and anything that would help one “open their mind” were greatly encouraged. He spoke freely of these events as just normal occurrences, almost to imply that he couldn’t see how others chose not to experience these things for themselves. At this point he stated the importance of trying everything at least once but never to linger. In 1979 after finishing school and deciding that he had given all he wished to give to his employer he set out with his girlfriend, Lorrie Dawson and a friend to move to Australia. They chose to take a trip along the west coast and visit friends in B.C. Canada before the move to Australia. The trip to Canada ended up becoming more than just a starting point for their voyage, when after visiting Seattle he and his girlfriend decided to stay and try to find jobs. He spoke of the loneliest Christmas of their lives that first year. How not knowing anyone isolated them and forced them to rely on each other greater than expected. He told of an evening near Christmas how they dressed up in their finest clothes and went to fanciest hotel they could find and just walked around taking pictures and sitting in the restaurant drinking coffee. Surrounding themselves with as much glitz and glamour as possible, he spoke of their desire to just feel as he explained it as “fabulous.” After being together for four years Lorrie decided it was time for her to return to Ca and finish her education. This was the end of their relationship and he stayed in Seattle, taking a job with an architectural firm.

In 1985 he found himself deciding that it was time to settle down and take a wife. So he married and moved to Chicago. After five years he decided that he didn’t like Chicago or his wife. So he left for Toronto were he spent some time before he ended up back in Seattle. After being divorced for two years he thought he would give a go at marriage one more time. This was mostly in part due to as he described, due to her infatuation with him. He took a job with Xerox and both the job and his second marriage lasted for about five years. Everything in my life happens in fives, he explained. After working for Xerox Don moved to Kinko’s were he made many more connection until in 2000 when he decided to open up his own printing firm which lasted him five years before it closed in 2005. Now he works for Att & t and handles much of their public relations in the north western region.

When challenged with the question of the importance of his life and life in general, he stated that all he could say was that people matter. Relationships and the commitment to those relationships were all that remained. He talked of how important it is to not take those relationships for granted.

He then began to discuss the changing of the decades and the mind sets that seem to prevail through them. The sixties as he explained were a time when people seemed empowered to change the world around them. There was a belief that what you did as a person mattered, while the seventies brought forth a sense of tension. This was post Vietnam, and with the Watergate scandal brought forth what he claimed as the underbelly of our government. While we never wanted to believe it, as a nation we started to become more aware of our “puppet” government. Meanwhile there were the Manson murders that accrued. While living in Laurel Canyon at this time, this registered very close to home. He spoke of these events as a reality check, along with the zodiac killer. He felt that while there had always been serial killers, that now more than ever people were taking more note of this due to the now wide spread of the media.. But the strongest impact of all on society was that of Kent state in his views. He stated this was the biggest reality check because as a society we became aware that our government could kill us and was killing us. Due to the release of birth control, this era also brought forth the sexual revolution. Which as he explained it was a time for experimentation and finding ones self. He talked of seminars held by groups of people on the campus at the college he attended on how to achieve an orgasm and the many different styles and elements that played into everything around that. He went further to explain the mind set of the group was that there was a search for a deeper truth with a focus on sensuality. While the attitude of the individual was that of everything was ok because we own ourselves and no one was worried of being hurt. He talked of the freedom they had to ask for what you wanted without having the fear of consequences. “In today’s society,” as he put it, “there is a lack of passion and courage.” He felt the eighties was the beginning of very selfish times, the emphasis for the whole and the community was quickly fading and people became more aware of there own needs. He stated that these times were more segregated than ever. It was the “me” generation as he put it. The nineties brought a sense of political fulfillment through Clinton; there was economical success but a sense of no emotional fulfillment. This brings us into the new millennium, which he casually said, “The bitch is here.” Due to personal struggles of the loss of close friends and family and the closing of a business, he optimistically looks to the future to get better.