This was written as a response to an old roommate (Don Hurlbut) from my time serving in the US Army in Colorado Springs. Don had asked me to update him on what I have been doing since we were discharged in 1971.
My first thought was how do you cover 50 years in a few words? Here was my attempt....
Don....
Well, that was a surprise! Last week Joy emailed that you had reached out to her on Facebook. And then Boom your email arrives in my inbox.
I have been writing more lately so this comes to you in the form of one on my “Ramblings of an old guy….”
This summer marks 50 years since my discharge from the Army and my return to Des Moines.
In reflection it seems like not much is different and in reality so much is. I left you, Louis and Joe married to Joy, no children and really no plan for what I was going to do. Life does have a way of making you go forward even if you don’t have a plan.
The high-points are a result of deciding to go back to school, although it took a few years to get there. I graduated in the winter of 1978 from the University of Iowa and shortly after found myself walking into a classroom at Des Moines Area Community College as an instructor in the Marketing & Management Department. My good fortune was getting reacquainted with my high school home room teacher. He had become the Chair of the department and I happened to take a class from him in my early years back in school. With his guidance I took classes that would qualify me to join the DMACC faculty. Twenty-five years later I took advantage of an early retirement opportunity and left the classroom. I continued at DMACC as an adjunct member of the staff teaching online courses for the next sixteen years. I have officially retired my red markers and closed the textbooks. In retrospect it was the best career choice I could have made.
Early retirement provided an opportunity to enter a second career. I went to work for the Iowa Cubs, the AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs as their merchandise buyer and overseeing their retail operation. My teaching career included being the program director for the Retail and Sales Programs. I had the educational background to do the job and my old retail experience was enough to convince them I was the person for the job. I spent fifteen season with the ball club before deciding it was time to try retirement, so in 2015 I retired.
Retirement lasted about eighteen months when I accepted a similar position with the Des Moines Buccaneers, a junior hockey team affiliated with the United States Hockey League. I was basically repeating my years with the ballclub only on a much smaller scale. I officially stepped away from that position last fall.
There you have what I have done with my professional life. Not real exciting on paper but a life fulfilled with opportunities, challenges and some success.
On a personal note I can rewrite the last sentence as it has been fulfilled with opportunities, challenges and success.
As you can tell by the way you found me Joy and I are no longer married. The relationship produced two wonderful children and a lifetime of blessings. Tony was born in 1980 and Ann Marie in 1984. Both went on the graduate from college and are pursuing their careers of choice, Tony is in upper management with Apple in their retail division and Ann has her own social media marketing and consulting business. Like you know when raising children there are challenges and rewards. Fortunately there have been far more rewards!
In 1994, I married a person I met through my work at DMACC. Shari soon became the center of our family serving as a friend, consultant, parent and a source of love for the whole family. She keeps us organized and she is a huge resource of love for all of us.
Shari is also a retail professional and I think an influence on Tony following a career in retail. She is a District Manager for Cracker Barrel overseeing the Country Store operations for thirteen stores in six states. Managing people and travel are a big part of her position.
As great as Shari has been as a partner, mother, friend and confidant she shines the brightest as “Grandma.” Our granddaughter Gigi and grandson Ricky are the only thing that can stop her in her tracks. I joke that I dropped from first to third in her life, a position I gladly accept.
The challenge of writing this was to update you on my life since leaving Colorado Springs in 1971. While there are many stories to share and many events to think about these are the stories of my life and I think I’ve rambled long enough. Like watching home movies…. interesting to me boring to those having to watch.
Don, you asked for “all the wisdom life has dumped on my doorstep” after some thought….
"I believe if you’re blessed with a loving family, a few good friends and a career you are proud of you have lived a rich successful life!”
Good to hear from you!
Rick
01.12.21
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