After graduating from Chattooga, and completing bachelor's degrees in English and Business Administration at Berry College, I worked for two years as Director of Alumni Support at Berry. I left Berry to go to Georgia State University and began an MBA. I left Georgia State as Senior Director for University Development and College Relations (after a funding cut mandated by the governor). With years of service and accrued leave, combined with "buying" 1.5 years in the Teacher's Retirement System, I was able to retire with 25 years service. I took a six-month consulting job with the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers in 2010. I'm still there, working only two days a week and loving that schedule. Seven nieces and nephews all grown, two married with children of their own. Although I live in Marietta, I have stayed involved in Chattooga County, particularly with local historical society...was charter officer and served as president for four years. Proud to be a member of the Class of '79! (updated 2019)

What is below the line is what I really remember but one of my revered classmates challenged me to put down a few memories and "name names" so here's my attempt.

I remember a bizarre, VERY bizarre attempt at singing for some benefit program over WGTA in 7th grade...I'd like to think the memory was drug-induced but I was a good kid. It involved myself and other unnamed kids (with initials RP, DH, JI, MS)...an awful imitation of the Hillside Singers and "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" (the Coca-Cola Commercial) and ended with an off air game of spin-the-bottle (seemed to go with the song) while waiting for our rides.

I remember--as most male Summerville Jr High students remember -- English with Mrs. Ransom, and a strange story she told one day about a hit and run with some lady's Cadillac on the way to work from AL to S'ville. She'd backed her VW bug up, looked and decided that the screaming lady's Caddie didn't have enough damage to merit being late to work. Same year, I remember Mrs. Reece, the math teacher, throwing that hammer from her desk drawer and hitting the wall. Can anybody remember at whom the hammer was aimed? She retired right after that. I also remember trying to avoid the Moore & Bentley paddles.

The first time I cussed out loud at school is when I had to unbag that $&#@ cat in Martha Price's Physiology class. I could hack on those frogs all right but the pickled cat was a challenge.

I remember being jealous of Susan Sumner's late model candy-apple red Monte Carlo (I was generally driving a castoff car my grandfather used for fishing--if at all) until I got my mother's 5-year-old Malibu (with a 4-barrell engine) at the end of my senior year so I could drive something more dependable to my job as a camp counselor at Rock Eagle. Incidentally, there is still some friction with my brothers (who otherwise seem to like me fine) about the quality of our first cars--David wound up with a nice souped-up VW (metallic red) but Jeffery wound up with my grandmother's English-pea-colored Maverick (and the unfortunate nickname Ick--given to him by his teammates on the first string basketball team at CHS--as I recall he was the only gangly white boy starting that year--the name is an unflattering comparison to Ichabod Crane--of Irving's Headless Horesman fame--but they used the Chattooga County spelling--Ick). He managed to overcome the stigma of the Leseur pea-colored Maverick with a bumper sticker that said "Don't laugh, your daughter may be in here." My grandmother did not approve of the bumper sticker but by then she had a new white Thunderbird.

I kept that Malibu until I bought my first new car--a charcoal gray Monte Carlo with t-tops. You can take the red neck out of the country but...by the way, do not think you can unlatch and pull tighter a whistling new t-top coming up Taylor's Ridge from Rome LATE at night. God will bust your t-top.

I remember Mrs. Couliette's descriptions of the "bad" diseases were vivid, and involved toilet seats, and that I was convinced for a week and two chapters in Health Science that I must be carrying two or three of them.

I remember Nell Taylor and the Canterbury Tales inspired me to make one of my majors English Literature.

I've mentioned before that I really enjoyed trigonometry, not only because Mrs. King is a great teacher, but because our sectioin only had three students. Steve Wofford, Scott Ash and I spent a fair amount of time in Mrs. King's big Buick going to Armstrong's and trying not to be hit by the girls in Mrs. McGinnis's VW wagon on their way to Jim's.

I remember cheering Darlene Hatcher 'til I was hoarse, with about 30 other hormonal fifth and sixth graders, 'til she became Miss North Summerville Elementary School. We had a little more dignity by the time we were cheering for Dee Johnson as Miss Chattooga County.

I remember that whatever Chattooga football game was going down the fall after we graduated was so important that post-game I had to find out who shot J.R. Ewing from the girl in the drive-through window of McDonalds in Dalton, GA.

I remember in 10th grade going to Beta Club convention escorted by Mrs. Couliette and Mrs. Henley. The way the towers of the old Marriott (now Radisson) in Atlanta face each other, everybody was pasting softcore propositions in their windows with wet toilet paper, with the room extensions included. We put up "All Nite Guys" (and started getting calls from lots of girls). With Mrs. C and Mrs. H checking up, it was more like "9 PM Guys"...

I remember sitting next to my good friend, Mike Smith, in Hixie Brewer's typing class...and every time she'd do one of those "timed writings" and turn off the dang lights (there were NO windows in those internal CHS rooms), Mike, who could type 352 words a minute to my 24, would take his right foot, kick the chair out from under me, hit both my margin locks and be typing away, never having missed a word of the inane dictation about some girl whose name was "Zoe Spivak". I would just have crawled back into my chair when HB would turn on the lights because of the racket.

I remember sharing carpools to and from kindergarten with Mark Sentell, as well as with Karen Biship and Chrysann Ramsey--and the most important thing was to what color table you were assigned for the week. I marvelled at how well Karen's mother could shift the gears in her Chevy--no clutch required. I was also glad when Stuart Hotchkiss moved away in elementary school so that I could get to be the 2nd tallest guy in my class (Scott Selman could not be overtaken), never dreaming they were growing all the tall kids in Menlo, Lyerly and Pennville.

I remember passing Physics and wondering "what the heck was that all about?" Then I had the same feeling post-Calculus... One day, I hope some of you engineers will tell me why we need to bother.

Mostly, I remember the night that we graduated in the--then almost new--gym. I remember thinking about how long I had known most of you and wondering if college and work would hold the same kinds of friendships. I've made some good friends along the way since '79 but I will always contend that growing up in a small town and staying in one school system is the very best thing that can happen to a kid. From that point, some of us were destined to go out in the world to the big cities (although I'm still floored with Darlene Hatcher being able to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa out her window) and some of us were destined to make lives close to home. Wow, it will be good to see all of you.

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I have more great memories than 8000 characters would contain. Every time I'm up home or on the streets of Atlanta and I run into one of you, I am more convinced that I come from a place that just has great people. I am proud to have been able to have known each of you.

I have friends from all over the country and, during my years at Georgia State, got to know students from all around the world. I don't know many people who can say that they had the opportunity to go all the way through school with such a great group of people (even you guys who came and joined us from Pennville, Lyerly and Menlo are great!). Particularly, when I look at the pictures posted by Greg, Phil and others of our kindergarten class, I'm thankful. Y'all are the greatest. It is bittersweet to me because, since kindergarten, Lynn Little Wofford has been a cherished friend. Years would go by without our paths crossing but she and Phil were always the same. I never heard Lynn say an unkind word about anybody and nobody could make me laugh more easily than Lynn. They got a beautiful new voice in the angel choir this week.

Looking forward to sharing some memories with all of you at the 30 year reunion. And the 40 and 50! And, if Debbie Cargle, Debra Battles, Tina Green, Sammy & Sharon Blalock Padgett and Paul Meredith have anything to do with it, the 75th!

Maybe

Yes