John Rabb:
CLASS OF 1975
Satellite High SchoolClass of 1975
Satellite beach, FL
Roosevelt Middle SchoolClass of 1972
Cocoa beach, FL
Delaura Junior High SchoolClass of 1972
Satellite beach, FL
Orchard SchoolClass of 1969
Indianapolis, IN
Greenbriar Elementary SchoolClass of 1969
Indianapolis, IN
John's Story
Here's my story and I'm sticking to it. Actually, it's all true, to the best of my recollection.
After high school, I went to Washington, D.C., to attend Georgetown University, where I earned a BA in English. I also later earned an MA in International Relations. I thought I wanted to be a journalist, so I was fortunate enough to land low-level jobs during college at Rolling Stone Magazine and The Washington Post. I did mostly office grunt work, but I did get to write some articles for the Post. I also got to meet some 1970s rock stars while working at Rolling Stone, including Lionel Ritchie and the Commodores; the Doobie Brothers; Linda Rondstadt; Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show; and Spencer Davis from the Spencer Davis Group (Was he also a member of the group Cream?). In addition, I met and drank a few beers with the late Hunter Thompson. I wrote mostly book and record reviews at the Post, which was fun, got some extra money, and also got a bunch of free records and books.
Less than a year after graduating college, I decided to take a job on Capitol Hill, working as a press secretary and national security assistant for a Congressman from Maine. The pay was lousy, but there were lots of cute girls (including my future wife), and I made a lot of good contacts, which is the name of the game in Washington. I went on to do essentially the same job for two Members of Congress from New Jersey and Virginia. I was also a low-level Reagan Administration appointee at the State Department for about two years. Then I worked about a year for a defense contractor. I am now a career Federal employee with 29 years service, and I have been at the Department of Energy for the past 21 years. I am basically a government lobbyist, involved with interactions with the Congress.
I have been married for 25 years and have one child, a daughter who is a freshman at the College of William and Mary. I also have a 13-year-old male Shetland sheepdog (sheltie). I have rekindled my childhood love of horses (I lived on a farm in Indiana with five ponies during grade school), and I lease a horse (a 10 year old Arabian gelding) that I trail ride in and around the Manassas National Battlefield about three times per week.
About six years ago I started writing magazine articles i...Expand for more
n my spare time, for relaxation and for extra money. I write mostly about fishing, hunting, conservation, firearms, and thoroughbred horseracing. If you want to read some of my articles, you can Google me at "John Hay Rabb."
I have attended two SHS class reunions, and expect I will attend the next one, presumably in 2010. I would welcome any questions, comments or news from SHS 1975 classmates.
Addendum: On Thursday, April 9, I was thrown from my leased horse while riding on a remote trail through the Virginia woods near the Potomac River. Even though I was in extreme pain, I had to climb back on the horse and have him carry me out of the woods, because there is no way that I could have walked out. After 7 hours and countless tests at a local hospital ER, I was told that I had fractured five spinal vertebrae, but I was very fortunate, because there was no threat to the spinal column. I consider myself lucky to ONLY be in extreme pain. The prescribed treatment was rest, Percocet for the pain, no driving, and no horseback riding for about six weeks. I'm already back driving, and I have been to visit with my horse at the stable. I doubt that I will be out of the saddle for the full six weeks. I know I dodged a bullet, so there will be a new stricter safety regimen when I return to riding, including a protective jockey's/bullrider's vest. I can't give up horseback riding, because I have been riding since I was five years old. If you are a horse person, or you know any horse people, you will understand my point of view.
Additional update: A couple of weeks ago, I found my sixth horse to lease. He is a dark bay 10 year old thoroughbred gelding in Manassas, Virginia. The owner and I thought his name was "Beau," but when we ran his lip tatoo through the Jockey Club data base, we found out that Beau is in fact "Sea Rover," a California-bred former racer who is a grandson of Seattle Slew and 1989 Preakness winner Snow Chief. I knew he was no ordinary thoroughbred. I'm just learning to handle him, because he's big and powerful, but he is as sweet as a puppy dog, which is unusual for a thoroughbred with his pedigree. The owner also has four other horses, all of different breeds, so I have my own little horse herd to care for. It's a great arrangement.
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