Rick's Bio

Rick lives on a small farm in rural Alabama with his wife Jilda who was his high school sweetheart.
Their first date was in May of 1968 when she was his date on graduation night. 

The photo to the right was taken the following summer in Panama City, Florida.

When the Army started using the lottery in the early 1970s he opted not to get a college deferment because he'd always been lucky. 

Unfortunately, his birthday was drawn early and in the spring of 1971, he had a buzz cut and a green uniform. He spent two years "marchin', starchin,'" and eating Army grub.After the Army they hooked back up and married in 1974. 
The one thing they've had in common through the years is music. They started writing songs together and soon after they began playing coffee houses and festivals across the south.
The two still perform together today.


Writing

Rick jokes that if he'd known he wanted to be a writer when he grew up, he would have paid more attention in high school English class.

He did understand the importance of education, and worked his way through college graduating with a Masters Degree from Birmingham Southern.

He served as an adjunct professor at Bevill State teaching computer and businesses courses.

He started keeping a personal journal after he got out of the Army in the early seventies. Those journals are private, but if anyone had a chance to flip through the pages, they would realize that writing is a dream he's had for most of his adult life.

In 2001 he launched an alumni website for his alma mater, Dora High School and began to write every day. The feedback from readers was encouraging.

He started blogging in December of 2005 and continued to hone his writing skills.

In 2007 he got an opportunity to write a weekly column in the lifestyle section of The Daily Mountain Eagle in Jasper, Alabama.

In 2008 he published his book “Remembering Big” Pondering's and Reflections of a Sloss Hollar Scholar, which is a compilation of some of his early columns for the Eagle.

His columns run in 280 Living, and the Tannehill Trader in Birmingham as well as 78 Magazine.

He does freelance writing for Village Living in Mountain Brook, The Hoover Sun, and the Homewood Star.

He retired from AT&T with 33 years service in 2010.

His work has appeared in The Birmingham News, The Post Herald, Senior Living, the Atmore Advance, and the Birmingham Arts Journal.

His second book, Life Happens was published through Homefolk Media in September 2012.