Richard Griffes:
CLASS OF 1960
Muskegon Heights High SchoolClass of 1960
Muskegon heights, MI
Richard's Story
Richard is from Muskegon Heights, Michigan. He is Married. His schools include Muskegon Heights High School. He works(ed) at Renaissance Center Management Company.
Richard's interests include Artist Painting and Drawing, Reading and Writing, Ice hockey, Big Bass Fishing, Football, Official Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Official Detroit Red Wings, Linstrom, justyn verlander, Calvin Johnson. Music he likes includes Bob Seger, ZZ Top, Adele. Books he likes include The Grapes of Wrath, The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway, The Bible. Movies he likes include It Came From Detroit. TV shows he likes include Spartacus, American Chopper, Syfy.
One of Richard's favorite quotes is:""What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger".".
More about Richard:"Born and raised in Michigan, near the shores and great beaches of Lake Michigan, I had always enjoyed the rain and the hypnotic effect it had on me. As an adult, the rain still has that same effect on me. Listening to its rhythmic patter and watching the falling rain causes me âdrift awayâ and to reflect on events and/or loved ones in my life for a precious moment. This inspires some of my poetry. It is this state of mind that inspired my published poem âLady in the Mistâ in the book "Eyes of the Poet" and several other poems I have written. I enjoy writing short, emotional, meaningful poems that capture that moment in time.
My poem "Close Friends" has also been published in the book "Roomful of Starlight" by Noah Bevins (Editor) Jeffry Franz (publisher) in 2002.
When I was a child, I enjoyed drawing horses. I loved the animals so much, that I worked at a stable for free. After I graduated from high school, I served in the US Army, spending time in Europe during the âBerlin Crisisâ. I developed my talents as a portrait artist during my time in the military. At Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, I worked full time as an artist for the Army. I also played lead guitar in a band while stationed in France with the Army.
After serving in the military, I settled in the Detroit area, working as a ...Expand for more
firefighter and later learned the art of cabinet-making and fine carpentry, becoming a Master cabinetmaker. My experience and expertise landed me a position as carpenter at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan and eventually as the Architectural Department Supervisor.
Sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee and listening to the gently falling rain
outside my open window, I am reminded of simpler times when I was a child.
I would lie in bed listening to Muddy Waters and John Hooker on my old radio. It had an antenna fashioned from a length of wire hanging out the window for improved reception.
My head would be propped up on a pillow laid on the windowsill and the cool breezes would cause the rain to splatter gently against my face as I drifted off to sleep with a serene smile. I would dream of magnificent herds of wild horses running free in a beautiful valley encircled by purple hued mountains with white caps, swimming in my favorite swimming hole, fishing in the bayou with my brother, ice skating on our homemade ice rink with my sister and brother, majestic eagles in flight,
and cats eye marbles.
I am presently writing a book based on my life long battle with heart disease and more recently, diabetes. This is a survival book. It tells of the events in my childhood that I believe led to or in some way contributed to my cardiac problems of today. I will allow you inside my mind as a child and young man so you can feel my emotions for yourself. You will also be inside my mind as I go through some very traumatic cardiac events that carried me to the brink of death numerous times. If only one person recognizes the warning signs of a heart attack because she/he has read this book and their death is prevented, then all my efforts in writing my story will have been worth it.
I am a retired Architectural Department Supervisor for the Renaissance Center in Detroit, a cabinetmaker by trade, and an award-winning artist who enjoys painting with words as well as painting with a brush.".
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