Rick Antes:  

What am I up to? Oh, about 17.3-hands (that's horse-talk for 5'11"). OK. I know. Old joke. And your response is supposed to be "gee, I didn't know they could stack s**t up that high!"....lol! So here's the update to my original "bio" below: I'm retired like most of you from my graduating class of Spring 1967. All of my children are grown and long-gone from the "nest" and I'm single living alone with my beagle, "Bourbon", and my Arabian horse, "Ko'h Ta'h" on my small 2-acre spread up in Washington state in the general Seattle region. I stay active both mentally and physically and look about the same except somewhat "bigger" around the middle (actually, I'm still within 30 lbs of my high school weight). And I do my best to enjoy life as it comes. I use FACEBOOK frequently during the day to keep up with family and friends (it's really easy to find me there!!!), mixed in with Parish Music Director responsibilities, working on tasks or projects inside or outside the house, tending to my horse, and sometimes just sitting at home relaxing and reading or watching TV. Some days I get called by clients to do work on their systems which is always nice because it keeps the mind going. Other days I might head on out just because I'm tired of looking at "four walls". I might pack my laptop and hang out at the local Senior Center just to see who's still around, or I might pack my photography gear and head out for a day of photoshooting. During the evenings I'm usually home unless it's a choir rehearsal night or it's the weekend and I might decide to take in a movie, a stage production, a concert, or head over to one of my favorite karaoke joints (my favorite...one of the banes of being an experienced singer and entertainer). So that's what I've been up to lately. If you are curious about the "rest of the story", read on. Don't say I didn't warn you that you may get bored.....lol!!! ============================================================================================= I tried to keep a low-profile at Gal...it didn't work but I had established many many very good friends and acquaintances. Even though I was inherently shy and unassuming, I found myself more visible than I wanted to be at the time. Perhaps it was because at nearly 5'11" I was considered tall for one of Asian origins at that time and also because I'd amassed a wardrobe in my favorite but simple color scheme: all black. These things plus being somewhat rebellious in the eyes of our esteemed educators most likely made me "stick out like a sore thumb". Ahhhhh...the joys of dumb youth. But it was a part of my life that has nothing but great memories of all the wonderful people I'd met and gotten to know, both students and the educators that strived to inspire us. I married another Gal alum I'd met while in college and we had one handsome son. Eventually I moved up here to Washington state and now have a small "ranch" in a rural area outside of Auburn, WA. where I've had up to six horses, three dogs, and four cats on the acreage. Unbeknownst to all I knew at Gal, farm life and horses were nearly half of my summer vacation life while growing up. It was truly a welcome 180° paradigm shift every year from the rest of the year spent in urban life and I now enjoy this way of life in rich fulfillment. I've had four beautiful children, three sons and a daughter. Two of them are in California and the other two live in the Pacific Northwest. I also have one ...Expand for more