David Keating:  

If I am remembered by any of the people who are on this site, I would expect it to be more from growing up in Fox Lake Hills and going to Gavin more than my "high school drive-by" at Grant. I see many of my grade school classmates here. I changed radically between 8th grade and sophmore year, going from a bookish horn-rimmed "smart kid" to wearing John Lennon glasses, growing my hair long and generally embracing the whole "Woodstock" mindset, with all that implies. I went from teacher's pet to permanent member of Bud Scott's sh^t list in a year, but what a year... I live in Stone Mountain, GA, just outside Atlanta. My 29 year old son Adam and his girlfriend Sally live here with me. My daughter Niki, son-in-law Paul and my grandaughters Victoria and Natalee live in Florida. My father Earl Keating and brother Larry still live in Ingleside. My sister Kathi lives in Arizona. My son and I have lived in Atlanta since being relocated by my employer from the Los Angeles area back in 2000. For what it's worth, I walked into Bud Scott's office the day I turned 16 back in 1972 and quit HS, which is why I'm not in the yearbooks after 1971. I did go get my GED when I turned 18. I just went in and took the test without studying, to see what it was all about, and I passed with 92%. That showed me the value of my education during grade school at Gavin, since there was nothing required to pass the GED that I hadn't been taught by the time I graduated from the 8th grade. (I didn't get a whole lot out of my two years at Grant. I spent most of my time either ditching or hanging out at the broasted chicken place across the street, or at Dairy Queen, of course.) Not to brag on me, but to brag on the absolutely first rate education that Gavin provided. What a great school! In all fairness to Grant, freshman geometry and drafting gave me the basic skills that allowed me to spent several years in the 1980's as Design/Engineering manager for a major furniture manufacturer. In 1974 I replied to an ad in a comic book (still read them every day, only now they're digital). The ad promised "Earn over $500 a week customizing vans!", which was the hot thing at the time. I enrolled in the correspondence course, learned auto and furniture upholstery and was managing the upholstery shop up at Vantastics/LRP in Lake Geneva by 1976. I won several best interior awards in major auto shows and built a van for James Garner and a customized golf cart for Jackie Gleason! I wound up managing upholstered furniture factories in Sheboygan, North Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, New Jersey/NYC and Chicago over the next 17 years, ending up as General Manager of a factory in Los Angeles. That factory was burned to the ground during the Rodney King riots of 1992. The owners took the insurance money and the factory never reopened. After that, I took the opportunity to make both a career and a lifestyle change. I grew my hair back long (see photos), got tattooed, met a beautiful girl 12 years younger than me (lasted until I was transferred to Atlanta in 2000, still not completely over it), started my own PC shop and generally had an awesome mid-life crisis in Southern California during the '90's. I was where I was always destined to be, living the life I was destined to lead. I should mention that I had been married and divorced twice by then. I had custody of my daughter Niki until she turned ten and went to live with my ex, the former Chris Dubek, (Grant class of 1972, still going by "Christina Keating" to this day) do...Expand for more