Dave Bacon

Dave Bacon (left) with Maurice Dance (image from Slide 110 in New Games Slide Show)

 

A DAVE BACON REMEMBRANCE (from Bill Michaelis)

Dave was a long time true friend and colleague of mine…almost 40 years (always checking in and checking up on me). I'm so very sad and sorry for Robert's loss and the loss for his family and friends. I knew Dave as a fellow recreation guy (I'm a retired S.F.S.U. professor)…and a fellow New Games traveler, a workshop presenter and event organizer…and in the midst of all his Bruins friends I admit I was a Cal Bear (we'd laugh about the insane 60's and 70's years that we had in common.)

In the classic Cheech and Chong bit the guy behind the door says “Dave/s not here…Dave's not here.” But rest assured that he is, and he's smiling at the Cheech and Chong reference. He's here in our hearts and in all the good memories of our time with him…and in all the good he put into the world.

Some random thoughts:

• A big kind generous man…a true wild and crazy guy
• A good dad, always bragging about Robert (his pride and joy through both good and tough love times)
• A would-be shareholder in Skyy Vodka and a few dispensaries (how would I know?!)
• A gentle giant…for some people who didn't know him he could come off as hard-edged and one-dimensional, but Dave had a big heart and a good head on his shoulders.
• A UCLA graduate in the psychedelic Bill Walton's fraternity era…a well-respected professional Recreation Manager for the City of Redondo Beach who hired good people, provided quality community service programs, and knew how to generate revenue to pay for it all…he knew how to organize and make things happen
• Did his share of partying but was always up the next day for 2+ hours at the gym or in the pool
• We did many years of highly successful New Games Family Fun festivals in Redondo and tons of highly rated youth development workshops in leadership, positive discipline, teambuilding, etc. (often with a growing Robert as our able assistant – now a grown man with his own professional skills and contributions)…and Robert, any way I can help up the road, I'm there… Dave went on to lead many more workshops on his own.
• He truly cared about community, the poor, the struggling and disenfranchised and he knew the potential of Recreation and Play to help lift people up
• Dave worked at the Job Corps back in the day and was one of the few New Games Leader/Trainers who could work well with the widest range of folks and cultures…from the well-to-do to the hard core, from suburban folks to inner city residents, he commanded respect and modeled good playful accessible leadership
• He was a good teacher, enjoying his retirement years from Redondo and teaching leadership, camp counseling and activity courses like golf (he was a good golfer) at El Camino College…still experimenting and learning
• Dave was there with me when we did the morning program of the California State Greek Folk Dance Festival for hundreds of sleep deprived youth and their chaperones at the Ontario Convention Center (a total clusterf**k)…but we got paid well and got out of town quickly. You always want a good buddy with you when disaster strikes…and you can both laugh it off, learn from it and move on
• Dave was married for a while to Sandy, a good woman and top level school administrator (but marriage wasn't in the cards for him)
• He loved traveling and showed up to the New Games reunion in San Francisco a few years ago with one of his nice lady friends and even stayed at the old hippie B and B The Red Victorian ("I coulda/shoulda stayed at the Hyatt!"
• Sometimes his conversations with you would be challenging as he often changed channels and made abrupt turns without signaling (some other creative minds have also been accused of this…)
• One last recollection…there was nothing funnier/"scarier" than Big Bird Legs Bacon in a leadership workshop chugging up to a member of the workshop circle to celebrate their name in the mixer/icebreaker game Name Train "Susie, Susie, Susie, Susie, Susie!" while moving his arms in a chugging train like motion (Woo Woo!)...you couldn't help but laugh as he blew your mind. Again, he could play and teach traditional sports but wasn't afraid to get wild and crazy
• I owed Dave a callback during the first week of July…just got his answering machine (too late)…message…tomorrow is not guaranteed…pick up the phone and tell your friends and loved ones that you love them and act that way.
• Dave Bacon was my friend and I loved him and will miss him and I will carry his spirit with me each day. Dave???! …………"Dave’s still here."

 

from Nancy Tyler

Dave was a Big Guy, with a Big Persona, who Played Big, with a Big Heart. Recalling his presence at a training or a camp brings back many fond New Games memories.

 

Play well, Dave, with your fellow player/referees who are already there, forming a circle. Nancy

 

from Todd Strong

It was always great to see Dave. To me he was the most southern-California, surfer-lifestyle dude of the New Games family (and I grew up a block and half from the ocean in Los Angeles county).

 

I was also impressed with how good at networking Dave was. This Connector (see Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point) knew a huge amount of people. He pleasantly surprised me at a Los Angeles training by having made arrangements for us to spend the nights at a cliffside house in Malibu. That weekend we slept to the sound of the Pacific surf crashing below.

 

Dave was also incredibly generous and thoughtful. A few years back John, Nancy, and I conspired to have the images from the New Games slide show digitized. The goal was to recreate the slide show in iMovie and upload it to the Internet. The three of us had all chipped in to share the cost of digitizing the photos and soundtrack (complete with bell cues). I mentioned the project to Dave some weeks later, and he immediately offered to pony up his share, unasked. He took pleasure in the idea of presenting the show to his physical education students at El Camino College.

 

Dave was also the first one I thought of when I realized it was going to be a challenge for me to haul down a bunch of tennis balls to the recent New Games reunion. It was no surprise when he handed me a bag full of used tennis balls that weekend.

 

A final story (for now): Dave and I were co-leading a training somewhere. At one point, I made some observation about how the New Games philosophy could have a positive impact on different rec and social programs. Unabashedly, Dave added, “Wow, I never thought about that." Talk about fluidly shifting from high- to low-visibility roles as a referee. Dave perfectly modeled a participant willing to always be open to new ideas.