1985_05 The Daily Collegian May 1985

              May 3,1985
flhuru
American dream becorpes a tragedy
By John Z«nl
Maws-, rati Spom Writer
Three days alter Christmas, the body of Barasa
Thomas was found hanging at the end of a rope
tied high up on an oak tree in a wooded area near Paso
Robles. His personal effects, including some money,
were intact. The San Luis Obispo County coroner
ruled Barasa s death a suicide.
The news filled Tom Simpson with sorrow. He
remembered his days in the Peace Corps in Kenya,
where Barasa was a barefooted boy scampering
around the countryside, his legs covered with sores.
Simpson treated the wounds and gave Barasa some
shoes. Barasa expressed a desire to improve his life
further  He wanted to come to America.
On Easter Sunday, 1978, Simpson brought him to
California. Now. 6 _ years later. Barasa had returned
to the bush forever.
Barasa's story had all the ingredients of the Ameri¬
can dream during most of his life here. But it ended
up as the final chapter of a haunting American
tragedy Barasa was the third truly outstanding
athlete from Santa Barbara to take his owh life in
1984
A select list of local high school athletic paragons
during the 1970s would have to include Barasa Thom¬
as. Mike Falberg and Iris Macdonald. All of them won
C1F championships — Barasa in cross country, Fal¬
berg in tennis and Macdonald in volleyball. As college
freshmen, Falberg and Macdonald played for national
championship learns, and Barasa was a conference
champion in track Vet none of them lived to graduate
from college  All were 21-22 years old when they died
Suicide is a nasty thing It brings not only grief,
bui also guilt to the families of the victims. It's
something at least 7.000 U.S. families have to deal
with every year — that's how many of them lose teen¬
agers and young adults to suicide.
, In the aftermath of Barasa's death. Tom Simpson
struggled with sharp pangs of guilt and a nagging
sense of shame He is a religious man who cherishes
life He recently became an MD and practices pedia¬
tric medicine in San Francisco. He and his wife. .
Agnes - Barasa's cousin — have four children.
Simpson is not comfortable with the topic of
suicide, but he feels Barasa's story should be told
without glossing over the cause of his death
"lis something people need to know." he said.
Barasa was n champion His classmates named him
the King of Santa Barbara High He had tremendous
highs, like those other kids did But later he had
tremendous lows
"There's an awareness that needs lo be brought to
the families of people who have these successes early
in life — that doesn't promise that the rest is going to
be a bed of roses We have .to realize that the heroes
we worship have their problems too "
lwwas remarkable that Barasa Thomas became a
high school hero in the United States, but the young
Kenyan had a remarkable gift of charm He had
worked his magic on Simpson in Africa. After the
UCSB graduate married Agnes, Barasa showed up in
their hut He made tea, cleaned the floor, built a fire
and never went home. By the time he came to
America. Barasa had adopted his friend's Christian
name - Thomas He lived with Simpson's parents in
Santa Barbara
Barasa thrived in sports at Santa Barbara High,
and that went a long way toward making him
popular around campus He was a valiant and strong
runner at all distances above half a mile.
Running was as natural as the wind blowing to
Barasa." said Simpson. It was important to him
because other people liked it   Running gave him the
personality, and that's where he really won.
'Running also opened up the wonderful opportunity
me
i to go U
ollege "
in the tall of 1981 oi
academic requirements
"We knew it wouldn't be easy.' said Simpson.
"Barasa wasn't the brightest guy. but he had a knack
for getting along. Fresno State was the best of all
possible choices. They offered a lot of practical
courses and remedial help"
Red Estes, Fresno's cross country and irack coach,
was sensitive to Barasa's needs, said Simpson. "Estes
was always there He was Barasa's counselor, teach¬
er, banker, father,and coach We had conversation
alter conversation about Barasa We wanted to make
Estes was another person enchanted by the glowing
warmth of Barasa's personality
"He could light up a room," said the Fresno coach.
"The guys used to love hearing him tell stories like
how he got his driver's license at Santa Barbara High,
how the car would jump across the intersection
They'd be crying when Barasa was done with the
Baraaa Thomaa (canter) on a happy day
In 1981 with Agnei and Tom Slmpaon
and   two  of  hla  niecee  a
What nobody realized until midway through Bara¬
sa's junior year at Fresno was that his mind was Uke
a car that was going out of control. All sorts of
pressures, real and imagined, were revving it up. A
year ago, it crashed. Barasa started talking about
bombs being hidden in basketballs and volleyballs. He
was hospitalized for an acute mental breakdown.
He was released a week later and seemed to be
responding to therapy, Simpson said. It seemed he
might be able to pull out of it. He returned to school in
time for the start of the track season.
Last April 7. the Fresno Bee Games were held at
the college track. Barasa was running the 3,000-
meter steeplechase He had set the school record and
won two straight Pacific Coast Athletic Association
championships in the event. It's a grueling race in
which the runners have to clear three hurdles and a
water jump each time around the track.
On Lhat day, an official miscounted the laps of the
steeplechase. Barasa thought he was finishing in first
place, but he actually had another lap to go. Three
runners passed him before he regained his stride.
"Barasa picked it up and caught them on the
backstretch," Estes related. "He took the lead on the
water jump. On the last barrier, though, he hooked his
spike. Another quarter inch and he would have cleared
Barasa fell with his foot caught on the barrier, and
his left knee joint was ripped apart. He managed to
scramble to his feet and limp across the finish line.
He had run his last race.
"His knee was as bad or worse than any football
injury," said Estes. "It was a total blow-out."
After surgery, Barasa's leg was in a cast. Estes
picked him up every day and took him to class. But
Barasa  was  despondent  and  seemed oblivious to
encouragement. In May, he left Fresno and went to
live with Tom Simpson and his family in San Francis-
It was a difficult-summer. "He wasn't the same
Barasa everybody thought they knew," said Simpson.
"He never'went anywhere. He was very melancholy.
By July, he was getting paranoid and delusional and
behaving strangely."
Barasa spent the next two months at St. Mary's
-   Hospital being treated for an acute mental disorder.
Doctors  never  came  up  with  a  clear diagnosis,
• Simpson said  "Barasa wouldn't talk to them."
In September. Barasa's condition had apparently
stabilized, and he was frioved to a halfway house in
San Francisco Simpson said he tried to get Barasa to
focus on some goals, but the young man had become
terrified of one possibility that had beer, raised — that
he might return to Kenya because his student visa was
expiring. "He didn't want to go hack." said Simpson.
— On Nov. 11, Barasa disappeared irom the halfway
house. It was later determined that on that day, he
boarded a bus for Santa Barbara. He left the bus In
Paso Robles, though. He got abold of a rope. Unnot¬
iced, he wandered off into the hills. More than a
month went by before a 13-year-old boy discovered
Barasa's (ate.
Simpson has wrestled with the question of Bara¬
sa's fate ever since.
"I've wondered a lot about the wisdom of bringing-
Barasa lo this country," Siinpson said. "He chftnged
cultures. It gnaws on me Wa< it too much (or him'.' Or
was it simply the fact that he had a mental illness,
something that interfered with his ability to deal with
problems?
"Those are unanswerable questions. I do know that
there are successful Kenyans who are better off (or
having experienced life in the United States. I do know
that Barasa really wanted to come live here with us.
He seemed to have an extraordinary way of living life
to the fullest. In my own high school days, I never
came close to experiencing the excitement that he
did. Few people do.
"But at the same time we admire somebody like a
great athlete, we have to understand they're human
beings. We have to leave room for failure", to under¬
stand that things don't always have to go well for
them, and they shouldn't be too proud to seek help. I
hope peopje can learn that from Barasa.
"He was a very special person."
Sean O'Shea, a high school classmate of Barasa's,
thought he was special too.
"We were best friends." said O'Shea.
O'Shea detected a scent ot trouble deep within
Barasa the summer after they graduated (rom high
school. Barasa's friends had bought him a roundtrip
ticket to Kenya so he could visit his (amily there.
O'Shea was at the L.A. airport when he returned.
"He said his family had broken apart," O'Shea said.
- "I could tell it shook him up." ^~\
For the most part, O'Shea said, "Barasa was
happy. That's why his death came as such a surprise.
Everybody thought he was always the same happy,
smiling Barasa."
They went in different directions to college. O'Shea,
a drama student, attends San Diego State. They wrote
letters back and forth and saw each other during
vacations. But O'Shea didn't see Barasa last summer
and wasn't aware of the gravity o( his condition.
Here are some other observations from Barasa's
grieving friend:
"We talked about our dreams, about how we were
going to conquer the world. He had utter faith that I
would become a great actor and do all sorts of
charitable things. He really believed he would see me
in the movies.
"Barasa wanted to go back to Alrica with a degree
in technology and build things. At some point, his
dream began to (ade. The problem was, he wasn't
taught to think analytically. He grew up under the rule
of nature. He didn't understand the way things work
here. When things didn't come right, it was extremely
frustrating.
"He did his best. He had a go-for-lt attitude. He
wanted to play football. I don't think he realized how
hard that would have been for him.
"He loved to run. What bothered him was that it
wasn't always his choice, what type of running he'd
do He never had the satisfaction of making his own
decisions Coach Estes cared for Barasa, but it was
hard for Barasa to communicate, to tell people how he
felt. He had trouble opening up to people, and he'd
lead everybody to believe his life was perfect. That
was his biggest problem.
"There was this battle between being totally inde¬
pendent and totally Independent. Being totally inde¬
pendent kind of frightened bim. It frightens all of us.
"But his death is such a hard thing to understand. 1
was having a lot of my own problems this summer
with work, school and girlfriend. II can all build up
and give you a sense of futility. I don't condone what
Barasa did but I can get a sense of what he felt.
'T( any good can come out o( this — I've been able
to experience the death of a friend and see how it
affects people. It's made me believe more strongly in
life. There's got to be more worth living for than dying
for. Even if you're totally alone, you have your life. I
wish I could have said that to Barasa.
"I got a message that he telephoned me in San
Diego on Nov it, the day he disappeared. I was never
able to return the call."
Way 8.198i|
Greatest Show Qp Earth
If you missed the "Ebony Fashion Fair"
held recently in the CU. you missed a
performance people have termed the
"Greatest Show on Earth." The show was
sponsored by the Iota Omacro chapterof
the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of
Fresno state.
I have been to many fashion shows
varing from the types of Yves Saint
Laurent featuring models like Iman, Christie
Brinkley, Monia to local Shows put on by
some amatures at CSUF, but this show is
in a class above the rest.
At 7.05 p.m. with light jazz in the
backgroung the curtains raised. Everybody
was expecting to see the regular com¬
mentator Sharla Simson. No, first Surprise.
Out came this gorgeous looking lady in
a blue kneelenght dress. She introduced
herself with a as Pamela Hernandez.
For a minute I thought she was speaking
in French. Seven of the eight models
stepped on stage all smiling, and suddenly
like an invisible command they all froze.
Pamela introduced them one at a time
as they walked on the ramp, modeling
their wean, twirling round and round and
diapearing with a slide.
Then the microphone began to misper¬
form. This went on for about 10 minutes
by this time the audience and the com¬
mentator were getting furious. The mic
was changed and things kept on going
smoothly again.
■ When the Fuller twins — Ronald and
Rodrick — glidded onstage, one in a bur¬
gundy the other in a blueish purple J/4
lenght coats ( Fur. Mink or Fox ) the
entire audience clapped, some screemed,
others stood up. They were mesmerised.
In this first part of the two part show,
cl othes featured were clothes with a "Fiesta
of colors", sports, daytime and active-
This part of the show ended with a song
-somebody elses guy, performed as a mini-
drama. It was song by, of course who else
but the fascinating Pamela Hernandez.
After about a 15 min recess, the second
part of the show comtinued.
Hernadez came out in a long evening
For starters I put my reporters pad
aside, and adjusted my sitting position so I
could enjoy the display of the beautiful
things that were being displayed across
my eyes,  i
"To protect the property without
obstructing the view"
It was like being on Venice beach on a
warm summer mnday. Nobody could
keep our eyes off Gina Nesci or Janice
Hall or Esther Maria or Meloney Mister
or Karla Clark or Tina Sherriel or Tina
Mason or Dennis Bancs either. As usual
the Fuller twins were outrageous.
From swimwear they moved on to early
evening wear then to "Grand evening"
wear. The show ended with a bride and
groom performance.
Among the atires modeled, two outfits
are worth mentioning. One was a black
lace blouse discribed as "To protect the
"To set you into trouble or your
money back GUARANTEE"
The otheT was also of lace: A lace dress
fit for a sex goddess like VANITY or one
of the Mary Jane Girls. It was also dis¬
cribed by Ms Hernandez as "To get you
into trouble or your money back guaran¬
tee." The dress was a see-through lace
dress and the lady who modeled it had
absolutely nothing under. This dress con-
sealed nothing.
Two models who distinctly stood out
were the red-head Gina Nesci and the on
stage wonder Janice Hall. During an
exclusive interview with both ladies back
stage I found them to be nice and very
Clothes featured included some from
the renouned Bob Mackie, Nina Ricci,
Valentino, Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint Lau¬
rent and something from every prominent
designer in Europe, and America black
and white alike.
The Frtssno audience like 1 have neveT
seen before, were in their beat outfits.
Among those present were Tanzy M uldre w
- Model of the year Fresno county, .3-84
Caroline Williams of the Career place¬
ment office, CS U F alumni Yolanda Da vies
ex-bulldog itar and newly wed Tyrone T-
bone' Bradley. Before the show 400 chain
were counted and midway throu|h the
show I glanced back and counted at least *
20 people standing at the back. Maximum
capacity.
Fresno was at its best
Fresno Sute was at it best. Fresno felt
so proud. If you missed this performance
you missed the greatest performance on
campus this semester. It was better than
performances like the one Papa Doo Run
Run gave at "VinUge daze" celebration.
Next time the Fashion Fair comes to a city
near you don't miss it.
Let Us Help You...
Look Your Best!
"Better is little with righteousness than great
revenue without right" Ptov. 16:8
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3»frttta»tmt • Fraiaa. C* W7M • MJ/4M-7W7
Phi Beta Sigma will hold its -Tickets:
26th Annual, Sweetheart Ball,        -Banquet $13:00 (singles)
| tomorrow at the Airport Pica- $23:00 (couples)
dillylnn. -Dance $5:00 (door)
Cocktail hour: 6:00 pm $4:00 (advance)   ,
Dinner: 7:00 pm All events takes place in thej
Dance: 9:30 pm. Concourse Ball Room.
Music for the evening will be
provided by Dr. X.
If your hair ia not becoming of von,
^l Yon should be coming to na!
THE/7HAIR1 Jheri curls, waves,
III I_III Ti_IC permanents, shampoos,
III  INItKNj haircuts, etc.
^ey Visit the Hair Interns.
Student discounts are given.
[ Curls and Cuts Graduates Special. The Cut's on us. Free hair cut with any
]  permanent or relaxers. Congratulation's from the Harr Interns to aQ graduating
Must bring coupon for st
IBCS FnJton, Fresno