Rick Gragg:  

Sorry to be gone for so long fellow Rangers, this darned life thing kind of gets in one's way from time to time as we get older. The Green Grog and runner up school fool and all around ne'er do well and third worst at any given task is still if not stamping the terra he is walking gingerly around on it, he he. I'm starting with a new story that I hope to update as I did the string of lies and hopefully funny stories I had going here before. Fingers crossed. I have a new hip now joining the old fogies league, and both my old arthritic knees make Joe Namath's knees look like shiny new ones by comparison, but this old maroon is still walking, 'er stumbling slightly... I talk to Tom Wages and Mike Kuykendall, and they are both alive and kicking. Recently, I went by the site Patty (Patrice) Royal was given to on her death several years ago and it is more beautiful there now than ever. On sad note I happened to see one of my favorite teachers passed a couple of years back, Harold Walters, who somehow corralled an entire class of high. possibly drunk morons just like me and he even managed to teach me anthropology too. What a nice man and great teacher he was. I found out an old childhood chum Terry Thomas died in Dec 2022. Terry was a great artist and he and I, MOSTLY he made a Lunar Lander at Hoover for an assembly that I remember being very very proud of. Thanks Terry! Last thought: Does anyone remember the Morris Medaris unauthorized Earth Sciences field trip to the Lost City in Chandler park the spring of 1976? Had the police had any choppers then they would've had the choppers out for us that wonderfully weird fun augmented take it on the lam kind of day of donuts herb and beer,it was after all senior year, yeah that's it, senior year... As a result of our shall we say escape that day, I dear reader, I got swats in high school from coach Chowens. with his office door open for full sonic effect. (and they say pain has no memory,...ouch! I couldn't sit down for a week.) More later gang, peace and love to all! 12/12/24 Update: This is a Hoover Elementary note, but I just added a photo in the 1976 sports folder of our 1966 flag football team and I'm trying to id all the kiddy finkies. The story though is about David York asking a visiting orchestra if they knew how to play Strawberry Fields Forever. (they didn't as I recall but it got a massive laugh) Okay now a Whitney story: Does anyone else remember Robin McNally? She played the flute really well. Anyway she and Greg Fields once played Thick as a Brick and a few other Jethro Tull songs at an assembly, I thought it was tripindi...Expand for more