Good Monday morning of Reunion week to all! We're very glad to start the week by sharing Rick's memoir. He attached a very impressive "resume" on his email, and I think he worked on every bridge or building east of the Golden Gate Bridge. I mention the GGB because we used to use that as a little motivational talk in class. I had read that they never can finish painting the bridge, that once they 'finish' they had to start back over. That is the our lives are, too. We've been painting the bridges for fifty years now, and still are. There's a good chance Rick designed and built most of them. :)
One of the funny things you'll see is that after one of his high school friends had to move away that he was gentleman enough to take over his LHS girlfriend, but, alas, it didn't last. :) I also laughed about his telling of finding his wife Gail at Auburn. Very nonchalantly he tells that they go on a first date to a John Denver concert and, boom!, next thing they are married. You can always count on John Denver.
Take me home country roads, to the place I belong ...
A life with Gail -- That, clearly, is the place Rick belongs. :)
Here's ...
Chapter 7
Rick Davis: The Bridge-Builder
I did not grow up in LaGrange, as my earlier years were in rural Henry County, just southeast of Atlanta. We moved to LaGrange in the fall of 1972 when my father’s job required him to relocate. I remember his having opportunity to take a position in Beirut, Lebanon, St. Simon’s Island and, yes, LaGrange. Well, that’s how we got to LaGrange.
Mom, my brothers and the cows moved first, and we came after football season. I was one of the “newbies,” and it was strange leaving all my friends I had grown up with and trying to make friends and fit in. My first acquaintances were Ted LaVance, Shaw Maddox, Kyle Hendricks, Bill Funderburk and Fred Waugh. Now that’s a combination, isn’t it? Each of them was so nice and made me feel at home quickly.
Being new to the school I made friends in several “clicks,” which was helpful emotionally and socially and allowed me to network with many different groups. I remember how many pretty girls LHS had but found out quickly those that intrigued me were either taken or not interested.
I loved my time playing sports, traveling with the marching band (I was a groupie), senior trips, parties, spring breaks in Panama City, Interact Club activities, Annual Staff, Cottillion, etc..
I would never have guessed that I would be in a relationship with Ted LaVance’s former girlfriend after he moved away for the majority of high school. The relationship ended, however, in our senior year as she was going to Tech and I was going to Auburn. She, being the more mature one in the relationship, knew she didn’t want to be in a relationship going off to college.
Oh, how that hurt so much! However, that opened my eyes upon graduation, and I thank her so much for cutting me loose as it changed by life forever. Thank you, Kyle, for always being there and tolerating my moods and listening. You were and are a true friend.
Upon graduation from LHS, Bill Funderburk and I signed on for a summer job with
Southwestern Book. We spent several weeks in training in Nashville and then were assigned Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Our base of operation was Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Well, that didn’t last long, and we came home. Grew up quite a bit on that assignment.
Next came the Auburn adventure. Initially I was accepted in Pre-Vet but ended up in Building Science quickly as I was sure I would not maintain a B average for two years and then attempt to get into Vet School with all the outside competition from around the world. Phil Langford and I were roomies, and Mac Bradfield lived in the same complex. Many others from LaGrange lived nearby.
Party, party, and more parties.
Beginning of winter quarter, a new girl -- Gail Perdue, from Montgomery -- moved in our complex. I thought she was pretty, intriguing, and stuck up, but she stole my heart and was unaware. Finally, I got up the courage and asked her to a John Denver concert. We were married in June of 1976.
We were one of three newlywed couples in the same quadruplex there in Auburn, and we had a blast with them and remain friends to this day. After completing my thesis, graduation rolled around in June 1979. There were eighty-two of us graduating in Building Science that day (largest graduating class in the curriculum to date}. Of those only four had job prospects due to companies pulling all their employees out of the Middle East when the leadership of Iran changed. I was one of the lucky four as I had an offer in Houston. Gail said to have fun in Texas but she wanted no part of it. We ended up in Montgomery with Algernon Blair, Inc. awaiting field assignment for a few months.
My first assignment was in McAllen, Texas, seven miles from the US/Mexico border. Gail reluctantly went. I vividly remember after the two-day drive to get to McAllen we were staying in a little cottage, as our townhouse was not ready. I had taken a shower and found Gail sobbing. Upon asking what was wrong, she pointed to the TV and said “I want to go home.” She was watching “Charlie’s Angels” in Spanish.
Recent graduates in my field moved from project to project, so we continued five years of moving around the country. Finally, we moved to Atlanta and bought our first home, one in which we still live in Woodstock, GA. I committed to Gail I would do whatever it took to stay in one place and raise a family. With the exception of a move to Richmond, Virginia to provide a new campus for Capital One. That’s what we did until I soft-retired in 2019 and permanently retired in March of 2022. I drove or flew weekly to projects all over the U.S.
Career-wise I was fortunate enough to do many projects as not only a builder but as a member of the design team and represent the owner/developer as well. Healthcare was the most rewarding sector. It turned out Phoebe Allen and I were both at Piedmont Hospital in the early 90’s. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time several times in my career. I was part of the ‘96 Olympics on several high profile projects at Stone Mountain Park (Velodrome and Tennis Venues, Confederate Hall and Aerial
Tramway -- Skylift replacement-most bizarre and dangerous project of my career -- Turner Field, Mercedes Stadium, Georgia Dome, and Georgia World Congress Center Phase IV and SunTrust Park for the Atlanta Braves.
Gail and I were blessed with two wonderful children, Laura and Stephen, and they have given us three grandchildren whom we love and with whom we are fortunate to be close enough to allow us to spend a lot of time.
We have experienced God’s Grace many times and learned early that many things that happen are just bigger than we are. We almost lost Gail, in 2009, but God wasn’t ready to take her. I was her caregiver for ten months while she recovered, and neither of us was able to work.
We also had both children away at school in Auburn. However, for the second time in our marriage when we had no income, we spent more than we had and have yet to figure out how we did it without it being Divine intervention.
“Give it to Lord,” we say and it has worked many times.
Don’t be surprised how it happens differently from what you anticipated!
We have a farm in Alabama on the Wehadkee Creek where we spend a lot of time since both my brothers live there. Recently Tim and Anya Looney have built a home on it and now live there as well.
Each reunion I cannot help but smile seeing all my classmates and hearing their stories of how they have navigated life. I also tear up for those we have lost along the way. I love every one of you and have fond memories of our short time together back at LHS. I know not everyone has fond memories of high school, but I am one of the lucky ones.
Go Grangers and look forward to celebrating our 50th reunion!
Comments