My name is Mike Strickler and I’ve been working at becoming a geologist since I graduated in 1974. Sure, I have the paper to prove I made it through the university, but, as with most disciplines, the most relevant education begins after you leave school and enter the “real world.” It’s safe to say that I learned more about the earth last week than I did in my entire senior year.
But… I did my best to avoid anything that smelled of math or science up until my second year at the university when I was forced to take some version of science to satisfy the “general education” requirements of my Political Science major (yes, I realize that my chosen field had the word “science” in it, but I can assure you that there is very little real science in politics). Anyway, I was understandably scared stiff — any thought of chemistry or physics or biology absolutely terrified me.
Fortunately, Ernie — my long-time buddy — was majoring in Geology at Cal and told me not to sweat the small stuff. “Even a total idiot like you can pass Geology,” he informed me late one blurred night whilst we were both trying to find the center. Since Ernie never lied and was always right that’s what I decided to do, and enrolled in G-101 for the spring semester in 1971.
Jump ahead to February 9, which was near the beginning of the term. (It should be noted that I was already becoming wary of PolySci — even at the tender age of nineteen it just didn’t make much sense.)
6:00:00 am: I was sound asleep at my parent’s place near Disneyland. Unbeknownst to me, the stresses that had been building under the San Gabriel Mountains in the Sylmar area north of Los Angeles were getting ready to exceed the strength of the rocks.
6:01:00 am: Rupture occurs, resulting in a 6.6 magnitude earthquake.
6:01:10: I am fully awake; lying on the floor next to my bed with fingers dug into the carpet, wondering when this one was going to stop (I had suffered through several small quakes since moving to SoCal from Nebraska… which doesn’t have earthquakes — there will surely be more on that in a later post).
Anyway, I survived and made it to school. My first class of the day was Geology, and the department was absolutely twitterpated. Be still my heart! There had never been this level of enthusiasm in PolySci and I was hooked.
I changed my major to Geology by the end of the semester.
I was also enrolled in a music class during spring Semester (another GenEd requirement). As fate and fortune would have it, I was sitting next to the most delightful young woman I had ever seen. We hit it off and were married by the beginning of fall semester (choice, not need, but why wait when perfection stares you in the face). One of the things we had in common was a profound dislike of the city, and vowed to move away from the LA Basin as soon as we both graduated.
I got my sheepskin in December of 1974 (Susie needed another semester), so we took winter break to start looking for a new home (as well as some gainful employment for yours truly). We landed in southwest Oregon a week later and found glimmers of both (ahhh… the innocence of youth). Whatever, we hustled back to SoCal to get ready. Susie moved in with friends for spring term, and I moved into the back of my truck with Gandalf (our Irish Setter), and drove to Grants Pass to set up the house and see if my potential job was still available.
The good news is that it was… if I was willing to wait a couple months for the creeks to recede from flood stage, and come up with a 4X4 truck to get me to work.
Why the 4WD I hear you ask? Well, I got the best job EVER as an exploration field geologist. For nearly fifty years I’ve been the guy who goes in first looking for the mineral resources we all need to support our lives — no matter your level of environmental concern (mine is pretty high, but that’s also for a later post), we all need what only the earth can provide. Whatever… for the most part, once you can get there in mom’s Camry I’m long gone.
Along with the fieldwork, I have also taught Geology at the college level since 1986, as well as the earth and space sciences at the local high school in Grants Pass. Without a doubt, teaching, for me at least, is also the best job in the world! I have been so very blessed, and have managed to support my family with the necessities. Click here to access GeoMan’s educational website hosted by the University of Oregon Physics Department.
I think if you spend any time on this site you’ll come to the conclusion that I am absolutely rabid about the earth and how it works — what it can do for us, and, sadly, what we are doing to it. From my perspective, it is impossible to separate any discussion of the planet from environmental considerations, so you can expect more than a little exposure to human interactions with the earth… both positive and negative.
But make no mistake: while I may be accused of being a frothing-at-the-mouth environmentalist (no thinking person who has lived my life could be anything but), I do not subscribe to the “Save the Earth” movement. If you want to “Save the Whales” or “Save the Banana Slugs” I’m your guy, but the planet itself is gonna be fine. Sure, it may not be fine for humanity (and the other species doomed to share the surface with us), but the earth itself will continue… at least until the sun gets weird, but that’s not supposed to happen for at least five billion years (give or take a week).
