One of my favorite things to do is to hang out with people younger than me, I know, I know I can hear my sons now, “Hey Dad, everyone is younger than you.” So over the years I have worked with fifth grade boys (Andrew Johnson & Jon Downing), high schoolers at Skyline High School in Oakland, CA as a Young Life leader, working as the gardener at Young Lifes’ Woodleaf, working as a camp counselor at The Firs Bible and Missionary Conference Center in Bellingham, WA, camp caretaker at Camp Colton and Camp Lutherwood and for almost 10 years working with the High School group at Community Bible Fellowship and Trinity Fellowship. While working with the high schoolers at CBF a group of leaders went to a weeklong seminar in Atlanta, GA. We got to go to all kinds of classes, listen to great bands, tease Dave Munson with an autographed Rebecca St. James photo, (sorry Becca, you waited too long, he’s taken now) and I convinced Mindy Eldredge to visit the World of Coca-Cola with me. It was there that I found the perfect size bottle of Coca-Cola. Those years of working with the youth were some of the best years of my life, thanks Dukkie, Brett, Andrew & Johnathan, Chewy, AJ, Fernando, Emily and all the rest of you. Thanks now to Amanda & Zack, Joel & Lisa and all my other younger friends and especially the ones who are now peers, which would be all of you.
After we had been married for a while we started having children and the Lord decided we could only handle two. In July of 1986 Daniel Scott Richards was born, named after two of my best friends Dan Simons and Scott Lowe. They are also brothers in law as Dans’ sister Kelly is married to Scott. In November of 1989 on the day that Dave Dravecky retired from major league baseball, because of cancer in his pitching arm, which later had to be amputated, David Francis was born. We had decided that we wanted to name our son David and so we were looking through Donruss baseball cards to see what others had combined with David for a name. Dave Dravecky had played for the Padres, before the Giants and we had followed his career and were impressed with how he integrated his testimony in with his illness and how he was facing it. In the picture we are in my den from the three bedroom plus den apartment that we were living in while were managing a 46 unit apartment complex. Those are all autographed San Diego Padre photos on the wall. This year as I approach 50, Daniel turned 21 in July and David will turn 18 in November. They have grown into big strapping, fine young men and I am very proud of them both.
One of the most important things to Ruth Ann has always been a group of great friends that we can be open with, silly with and supportive with. When we were first married we had a group of friends from church that we called The Beach Club. It was several married couples Scott and Mary Gilbert, Scott and Kelly Lowe, Mike and Leah Tompkins, Brad and Debbie Ediger, Mag and Lynn Magnuson and us. Every Valentines Day weekend for several years we would rent a home on the Oregon Coast between Yachats and Waldport and hang out eat, clown around and generally have fun. We would all leave our kids at home, unless they were under a year old. Here are Scott and Kelly Lowe, Ruth Ann Richards and Debbie pretending to smoke cigars, I think Scott was the only one who actually smoked his.
These are me and three baseball players. At the top is the late Steve Olin, he was a pitcher from Portland who played for the Cleveland Indians. He died March 22, 1993 in a freak boating accident during spring training. We met at an “Active and Oldtimers Banquet” here in Portland. Every year there is a banquet, to award scholarships and recognize ballplayers.
In the middle is Tim Flannery, at the time Manager of the Spokane Indians. Tim is just two weeks younger than I am, so one year I sent him a tape of surf music and a card. We aren’t friends, but occasionally we exchange items. Twice he has gotten tickets to see the Padres play the Mariners at Safeco Field and once at PGE Park. One year he gave me a copy of his CD Secret World, he has five CD’s since then. I really enjoyed listening to them this last week while I was on vacation. This picture was taken at Eugene’s Civic Stadium, just before the game. Tim asked me to for some matches and lit a smoke bomb and threw it into his dugout, and then yelled at his players for messing around when they should be getting ready for the game. He is now the third base coach for the San Francisco Giant, he has been a player, coach, broadcaster and singer/songwriter. You should listen to him.
Lastly, is Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. This is from a card show, where the promoter knew I was a fan of Tony so he let me sit and pass stuff and talk to Tony while he signed stuff. I also had brought all my cards of Tony and showed them to Tony and his agent, Johnny Boggs. I had some cards that they hadn’t seen. Tony was one of the nicest guys I have ever met. His speech this year when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame was great and really spoke to fans.
On July 6, 1985 I had the greatest day of my life. I married Ruth Ann and we have lived happily ever after. We love each more now than we did then, but it is not a smooth and easy road to get to where we are now.
1. We got tired of having so many formal pictures taken, so we slipped on some sunglasses and had some fun. When we gave an 8 X 10 of this to Glenda, Ruth Ann’s Mom, she hung it in the restroom.
2.Tim, Luann, me and Melodie hanging out in the foyer of Berean Baptist Church prior to the wedding.
3.My Best Man and I during all those formal pictures.
4. Some of my family at the wedding reception in Ruth Ann’s parents back yard. My cousin Becky Brooks, Luann, me and Melodie in the front row. My dad, his sister, Sara Brooks and my Mon in the back row. And yes, that is Mike and Leah Tompkins in the background.
5. The next morning Ruth Ann and our sister Liz Berry were taking pictures of our hands on the wedding dress and I fell asleep. Towards the end of our wedding reception Ruths’ brothers blindfolded me and then drove for 45 minutes. I figured they had just driven around the area for that time, but no they drove outside of town and dropped me off. I was wearing a dark Hawaiian shirt and dark shorts (see photo 4) and no shoes. As they drove away from me, Chuck threw me his flip flops, and they took off. I figured that they had just driven around the corner and were waiting for me. But no, they went home. I walked for 45 minutes on a road with no shoulder and no lights, past houses a half mile off the road, where I was sure they would shoot first and ask questions later. Finally I got to the town of Marcola, and a woman called and asked if they were missing a son in law. One of my new brothers and his wife showed up to pick me up, I swear we had to bail the car out cause he was crying so much. My new sisters in law convinced my new brothers to come get me by telling them if they wanted there marriages to be anything other than platonic they would come get me.
