Rick Lewis:
CLASS OF 1971
Seventy-First High SchoolClass of 1971
Fayetteville, NC
Rick's Story
Attn Classmates. Effective 5/10 I will not be renewing my Gold Membership. I have totally migrated over to FB and besides, this site has gotten WAY to spammy and otherwise cumbersome. Thanks!
Addendum: After my Gold membership expired, Classmates sent me an email offering to renew for under $4, so I caved in. I very rarely check out this site though. Most of my friends have migrated over to Facebook, as have I.
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Life
When I left 71st, I hit the road as a musician, eventually gigging with more bands than I can remember. After almost 20 years of touring (and eventually 6 ex-wives) it was time to settle down and actually grow up. Thanks to some gentle nagging from my wonderful, loving Mom, I took the exam for the U.S. Postal Service during one of my short visits back home. I was hired in 1988 and retired in 2008. I still play music, but on my own terms now.
In school I hung with the drug crowd, but somehow I made it through ok. I was much more interested in Hendrix than History, and I couldn't wait for the 3 o'clock bell to rush home to my guitar. It was how I coped with things back then. I eventually dropped out during the middle of my Senior year to play full time. I didn't actually graduate until 1975, through Fay Tech.
Does anyone out there remember our Eastern Football Championship over (heavily favored) Northern Durham?...I believe the score was 14-12. There wasn't a state championship back then so we settled on being Eastern champs.. I still remember watching the Northern Durham field-goal kicker hitting from over 60 yards out (twice in a row!) before the game, yet he missed 2 in the final period from 30 plus yards to help us seal the win. We were 3-A Pioneer League then. What a great time it was.
It was also the first time 71st had a marching band program. We were quite a joke then but had lots of fun. Remember the red sweatshirts? That was our marching uniform. Our first performance during halftime of a football game was hilarious. Our lead trombone player (John Ray) was the first in line and when he missed the turn marker we all followed him like cows to the slaughter. By the time our "performance" was mercifully over, we were in total disarray all over the field. I still remember the look on (our Band Director) Mr. Watkins face. Priceless.
Also deeply embedded in my memory are the numerous race riots that were a regular occurrence at school. It was a crying shame that people I thought were my friends suddenly became my enemies at the drop of a hat. I became "Whitey...Expand for more
", not Ricky. It was a challenge sometimes trying to walk into the entrance of school without some idiot trying to trip or shove me just because I was of a different race than they were. It took years for me to understand, but I got it. Very sad. I hope those guys still don't harbor the same hatred in their hearts as they did back then. Life is too short. I've never considered myself better than any man, regardless of the color of their skin.
On a lighter note, I still remember the Teen Club behind Rolands Dance Studio, the Teen Club at Bragg, the Apple House, Haymarket Square and last but not least, the Torch. What a hoot!
Bring back memories? To me, it's almost like it was yesterday. Doesn't seem like 40 years, does it? Frankly, I never thought I'd live this long.
The first yearbook I received (1969) was in black and white, but that didn't hide the beauty of some of my classmates. Even to this day, I still tingle whenever I see a beehive or a flip hairstyle on a woman. I made the mistake of loaning it to Sally Pitts about 10 years ago and haven't seen it since. She lived right down the street and was supposed to 'borrow' it for a day. When I asked her about it sometime later, she stated that she brought it back and I wasn't home, so she left it on the porch.
It was the only Annual I had left that survived my divorces.
I was a very shy young man back then and I only ever asked out one classmate for a date. Her name was Mary Preece. She politely turned me down, but it had a profound effect on me. In retrospect, it was a good thing she did, as I turned out to be overly promiscuous for many years afterward. Words fail me to describe this stage of my life...besides, there are times I don't believe some of it really happened. It all seems like a crazy dream. I am a different man now.
Well, lest I've not already bored you to death, I've posted some old band pics. They cover a few of the 20-30 groups I've played with and they show how I've matured (haha) over the years. Some of the pics are all that is left after 6 divorces.
I now live with a wonderful (and very understanding of my past) friend on a ranch in Raeford. That's her with me in my "now" pic taken in July -06 at Disney. She's one of a kind.
These days I'm hopelessly into saving unwanted and stray dogs (and to a lesser degree, cats and horses). Every time she says we've got enough, I come home with another one. It's become part of my life's work, and I firmly believe in the old axiom "The more I'm around people, the more I love my dog(s)".
Well put.
Life has exceeded my wildest expectations.
Rick(y)
(Updated 8/10)
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