Randy Gradle:
CLASS OF 1971
Arlington High SchoolClass of 1971
Arlington, TX
Billings Senior High SchoolClass of 1971
Billings, MT
Adamson High SchoolClass of 1971
Dallas, TX
Sunset High SchoolClass of 1971
Dallas, TX
Lockwood Middle SchoolClass of 1967
Billings, MT
Randy's Story
Life
I would not want to give the impression of too stable a life just because my wife Doris and I just celebrated 32 years together and as of 12-01-05 I retired from SBC after 32 1/4 years and raised 3, two boys and a young lady. No that would just be the facade. The 32 years at work involve major career changes, too many bosses and a lot of change (Operator, Splicer, Repair, Building Maintenance, Sonet and DSL). Marriage really can be like a fine wine.
We raised two pilots, with one finishing collage working for Brinker and the elder for Microsoft. Our young lady, the middle of the three suffered a closed head injury early in life but she is making a life in spite of the hand dealt her. One of my bosses told me he could pick out my offspring by their vocabulary alone and he might be right except our youngest can be a chameleon.
We love to travel and have driven in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales during one 17 day excursion with my wife and daughter and three of her former students a tenant and one of the students friends done in two cars with walkie-talkies. All planning worked out over the internet and phone plus the mail confirmations. Who needs a travel agent when married to an a-one researcher! We made the jump over the pond to spend Christmas 2006 in London. For anyone planning Christmas in London note that they shut down their entire transport system on the 25th. Our oldest made it to India between our trips when work sent him there for three weeks. We live life simply to afford what is important. We have added Germany, France, Austria, Luxemburg and the Chech-Republic to our driving and visiting pleasures and note in Germany you will be passed even if you're driving 123 MPH.
Our pets at the instant are a 2 year old Siamese cat and a 7 year old great dane.Sad to say our calico manx died at 20 years of age. The new cat and dog respect each other and each have their own space. Through the joy of offspring we have had snakes, a tarantula, an iguana and a guinea pig.
I retired from SBC December 1st 2005 and am working on a new career, my wife is a ...Expand for more
teacher (private school). We drive two Jetta TDI's and love the 36 to 43mpg. My favorite mode of travel was my Suzuki TL1000 R till a DUI hit me from behind on 1-21-04 and totaled it for me. Amazing thing was no broken bones but quite a sore back. Wearing protection pays off. One of the few times on that bike I was going slow enough to be hit on the freeway (construction traffic). Funny thing the bike is faster that most two and four seat aircraft. I am a checkride away from my own pilot's license with some 90 hours in the air.
My dad died in 1990 and my mom in 2005, both part of the tobacco casualties, for those of you smoking QUIT!! I had the onus of selling my mom's last house in Arlington Tx. We live in big D Tx.
I do respond to email and would love hearing from anyone I went to school with. In Billings Mt. I was the one that started the squirt gun craze of 69, but it was a 35cc syringe up my shirt sleeve under my books. I apologize to everyone with wet legs on their way to classes, but I still laugh about the wet seat of the pants misted with the stub of a fine needle, he only found out when he set down in study hall. What a look I got when he set down, he knew it was me. I'm amazed I never got expelled for the three day squirt gun law. Too bad I had to leave that beautiful campus to go to a barren inner city school in Dallas. My apologizes to those from Adamson but you would agree if you saw Billings Senior High. I would have been lost without the swim team at Adamson, the regular gym class was a joke. From Dallas we moved for my senior year to Arlington and Arlington High with a graduating class of 756 if memory serves me. The moves were the result of divorce and my mom burning the house down, remarriage and step dad's retirement eventually taking us to Granbury Tx. From there I went to Weatherford Jr. College and then on to SBC.
I have attended classes at UTA Arlington but never completed a bachelors. I joined and dropped out of Mensa and may again join them when time allows me to really enjoy the group. Contact me if you want to know more. Randall
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