Apples in God's Eye

Orinio Gregorio Opinaldo was born in Los Angeles and attended St.AgnesElementary and High School of which he is still an active member of thatcommunity in fi nances, social justice and liturgy. He has been a teacher for fortyfouryears for LAUSD and has taught all elementary grades and served as resourceteacher in art, drama, math, writing and reading. He was chosen as outstandingteacher from the Mayors Offi ce when he taught at Fifty-Second Street Elementary(1964-1989), nominated for the Disney teacher award when he taught at Forty-Ninth Street Elementary (1989-2004) and selected as the 2008 Hero for HarmonyElementary School from LAUSD Board of Education. (2005-2008)After twenty years of teaching, he went to India to refl ect on his fi rst twentyyears as a teacher and to plan for his next twenty during all of the 1983-84 schoolyear. During the next twenty years, he spent six months in Botswana where hetraveled to South Africa and Zimbabwe. After retiring, he set plans on what hisnext twenty years would be like in service to children and community. He is the patriarch of twenty-three members of his family of which eleven live with him. He has sixteen grandchildren, eight girls and eight boys and a long history ofwonderful friends scattered throughout the world. His greatest asset is his openness as a life learner. He embraces new experiences andis always studying, reading and listening but mostly observing the nuances of his ownmind so that he can grow toward total freedom as a vegan and a humanitarian.