Geezer

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Two years ago

Gerry Reid

Gerry Reid


It was two years ago today my close friend Gerry was severely injured in a wreck on I-40, passing away three days later. The days and weeks following the wreck were full of pain and tears though I managed to keep busy helping pull his friends together to celebrate his life.

Two weeks ago Kelly and I met with our financial advisor, who happens to have been a mutual friend of Gerry’s. Since Gerry’s death we trade hugs when we see each other, even two years later.

You gotta look out for those you love, and live life to the fullest. All we ever have is today.

Twenty years a civilian

Dress blues, winter 1991.


Today marks the 20th anniversary of the end of my active duty service in the Navy. I actually was separated a few weeks prior to this due to the amount of leave I had accumulated but it was 15 Feb 1992 when my active duty was up (known as EAOS).

It would be another four years before I would be a true civilian as my inactive duty took place directly afterward. Had America decided to invade Iraq before 1996, I could have been reactivated and been obligated to serve.

It wasn’t just a life, it was an adventure!

Highlights of 2011: the tornado

Worn out but happy!


In a year full of big events, the biggest one for me was the tornado of April 16th, 2011. While the damage to our home was a 6-inch shingle, the damage to our neighborhood was significant. It also gave me a chance to really help my neighbors when they needed it.

I vividly remember growing up in Atlanta and my siblings and I being awakened by my parents and piled under a mattress in our home’s hallway as a tornado warning. The winds would howl, the rain would pound, but the tornado would remain more of an idea – an after-bedtime reason to play with my brothers and sister in the hallway – rather than a real threat. That is, until April’s tornado rolled around.

I’ve already blogged about the tornado and the cleanup efforts I participated in. Looking around the neighborhood now I see only a few homes still covered with blue tarps. Some damaged trees still abruptly end 30 feet from the ground. A ride on the Millbank section of the Crabtree Creek greenway still shocks me when I reach the path of the tornado. I dubbed that portion “Tornado Trail” and it will likely live up to that name for many years.
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Highlights of 2011: job changes

Last August ended with a bang as Kelly and my job situations changed dramatically. I was let go from my job at Monolith the very same day Kelly accepted a position with Leadership North Carolina.

How things happened for me is still a mystery. I received a favorable performance evaluation in June and completed the personal objectives which would’ve qualified me for a bonus. It was at this point where things got murky and other executives took issue. Rather than being paid my bonus, I was told I was no longer performing to standards even while my manager reassured me that he had always been happy with my work. But whatever . . .
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Another trip around the sun

Today I complete my 43rd trip around the sun. Watching my kids remind me how slowly time seemed to pass when I was their age. Now time seems to pass far too quickly.

I spent a little time yesterday afternoon visiting Travis’s classroom for his class’s “publishing party.” The various cards on the wall with the words “second grade” on them caught my eye. It hit me that this was the last year I’d be the parent of a second grader.

I took a moment to soak up the scene. I looked around the roomful of squirming kids, up at the decorations on the wall, and finally over at my son of whom I am so proud. I wanted to capture the moment in my memory forever, knowing it would soon be gone.

Life is short. We have precious few days together and then they’re gone for good. I hope to make the most of the ones I have left.

Every day is a good one.

Highlights of 2011: Parks board

Last year was the year I became chair of Raleigh’s Parks board after three years serving on the board. It was something I could not have imagined when I started out and yet here I am.

Looking back, I did have some preparation for the role. As a boardmember I attended many of the ribbon-cutting ceremonies, I chaired my first meeting right after my election as vice-chair, and I filled in for the chair to speak at other park dedications the times he could not be present. I figured I could do the job, so why not take the next step and do it?
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Highlights of 2011: CAC changes

Last year saw some transitions with my work with Raleigh’s Citizens Advisory Councils. After seeing how energized neighbors in the East CAC had become over a noise issue with Enloe High School’s air conditioning unit, I decided it might be a good time to turn over the reins to new leadership. When you identify leaders, the next step is to put them to work, right?

My decision did not come lightly. For over three years, I’ve been planning meetings, coordinating speakers, conducting meetings, and streaming live video from the meetings, to keep my neighbors informed and engaged. In between, I met with neighbors who needed help navigating the city departments to get something done. I also administered neighborhood email lists so that people could stay connected.
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Highlights of 2011: campaigns

The year 2011 was an election year for Raleigh and I was right in the thick of things again.

For a while now I’ve been wondering what it might take to play a bigger role in Raleigh government. In February of last year I quietly took a day off from work and drove to DC to attend a Veterans Campaign workshop aimed at getting more military veterans to run for office. It provided an eye-opening education to what it takes to win an election, some of which isn’t particularly pleasant.
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Highlights of 2011: Mordecai Historic Park

It was a bit unexpected that Mordecai Historic Park would become a milestone of the year 2011. I’ve served on this sleepy little board as the Parks Board liaison since I joined the Parks board but the last year was by far the most eventful.

Things really heated up in the spring when the board was presented with the location options for the Mordecai Historic Park Interpretive Center that’s been on the books for a number of years now. I’ve extensively covered on the blog the pros and cons and the thoughts behind my decision-making process, so I won’t do so again. Highlight entries are for reflection from a bit more distance, though, so from this perspective I see the growth opportunity this event provided me.
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