Richard E Wakeland

Last reunion made was 20th so 30 years of catchup coming. Was in middle of first USNR command tour (SOCKOR) when 911 occurred (and turned everything upside down, just look at the picture nuke submariner in military free fall!) For security purposes kept a very low profile with little to no internet presence for about 18 years. Ran into Steve Mechler and Robert Rigney on a Southwest flight while returning from SOC MacDill AFB Tampa (SOCSOUTH second USNR command tour in RR/Homestead) in about 2003. Was in GITMO in 2009. Moved to Austin in 2012 became Policy Advisor to Commissioner Ken Anderson of the Texas Public Utility Commission in early 2013, was fired by his replacement (one of the the three commissioners who along with Abbott, did not like and ignored my warnings about the ERCOT grid, probably the best reason to get fired!) in April 2018. Started two small companies that are doing fine. Pete and Allison will appreciate this: Youngest son swam in US Olympic trials in 2021 and US Nationals in 2022. Because of Covid shutting pools, my swimming was curtailed so I was running about 30 - 35 miles/week. On November 8, 2021 while on customary 6 mile run, my heart stopped cold, without any warning. I was dead for 15 minutes (AFD performed CPR) until EMTs hit me with the Frankenstein pads and woke up in ICU with broken ribs, sternum and all cartilage destroyed. And absolutely no memory of the event. Cardiologist tells Maureen, "We found no heart damage. We found no brain damage." Maureen: "Not even pre-existing???" They installed an ICD (my sister calls me Tony Stark) which 4 1/2 months later tried to kill me when one of the leads went through the wall of my heart one afternoon. Bled into the pericardium but made it to the ER just in time where they ultimately had to hit me with 3 separate doses of adrenalin to keep everything going until they could drain the blood and yank the lead back through. So now I have a slightly different perspective on life: Remember shipmates, teammates, friends and classmates. Go over the top with hugs and backslaps when you see them. Think about those that are no longer with us. Live life to the fullest without excess. And, this is very important, live close to first class medical facilities. -TBK sends

I unlocked the side door to the auditorium and held it open during lunch the day before the candidates for senior class president gave their speeches. Bobby Healy and Tim then drove up in Bobby's VW bug with the surfboard on top wrapped in a sheet and ran it up the side stairs right outside the cafeteria in full view of everybody, but nobody noticed. After the dust settled and the Gestapo had decided to release Tim from the handcuffs (preceded by his forced withdrawl from the race for Class President over the PA system with his hands pinned behind his back as I recall), my Mom (the assistant librarian who on April 1 had inserted a Playboy magazine cover over a Popular Mechanics magazine in the library which drew considerable attention from the male students) asked if I had any involvement in the whole affair. Answer: Yes Ma'am. Mom: Does anybody else know about it? Answer: No Ma'am. Mom: Good. After the 10th or 20th (my last reunion because of 9-11) Tim wrote a note to Mom telling her how much he appreciated the Library because it was the one place on campus where he felt safe because he was never hassled. I found it in her keepsakes with those from my sister's and me after she passed away at 102 in January 2025.