I went back home today and got to see some folks I haven’t seen in a long time. These people are not just acquaintances. They are lifelong friends, and as I have mentioned before, the friendships are generational. These folks are family to me.
I was there not under the best of circumstances. I was in town to speak at a funeral. I don’t remember when I first met Ted Parks. I’ve known him all my life. And it was an honor to be asked to speak at his funeral service at the First Baptist Church today.
Ted Parks was a very big man. He was big physically and he was also big in many other ways.
He left Reynolds as a teenager many years ago because he wanted to make sure he got his high school education. His parents believed in hard work and made sure their children worked in the fields. Ted knew if he stayed at home he would either have to drop out of school because of the work required of him or he would fall behind in his studies and be in a position to fail.
He moved 40 miles away to Macon to live with his older brother. He got a job at a laundry to support himself. He attended a much larger high school there and started playing football. He was a good enough football player to be offered a scholarship at the University of Georgia when he graduated. He did play for the Bulldogs and should have been a member of the 1943 Bulldog team that played UCLA in the Rose Bowl. He had enlisted in the US Navy and was in the South Pacific when his teammates were preparing for that game.
When he returned from the war, he continued his college education at Mercer University. He played football there and had an invitation to play pro ball by two teams but turned them down because there was not enough money in it and he had already started a family. He got a degree in Economics at Mercer and had a minor in Physical Education.
He lived in Reynolds all his working life and spent his entire career working at a nearby Air Force Base as a civilian employee. He also farmed on the side.
When Ted was a young man he was the person the county called upon when someone drowned. He would be called upon to dive to the bottom of the river or ponds in the county to pull a body from the bottom. Today people wear wet suits and air tanks and go through a lot of training to do such diving. Ted did it on sheer athletic ability with no training.
Ted also was a musician. He played a pretty mean guitar and also played the harmonica. His wife remembers him singing to her many times during their younger married days.
On many occasions during my adult life in Reynolds, I sat at a breakfast table with Ted and some of his buddies and drank coffee and listened to the stories. He was plain spoken and very opinionated. And he was one of the most interesting people I ever talked to in my life. Sometimes he would be funny when he was not trying to be funny and sometimes he would be funny with a purpose.
He was big enough and strong enough to never have to back down from anyone. But his heart was tender enough for him to be moved to tears when the discussion came to his family, his country, priorities and spiritual truths.
He didn’t drink or smoke. He would tell you in a heartbeat that he hated a drunk. But some of his favorite people in the world were people who had problems with alcohol.
That says almost everything you need to know about Ted Parks.
Another thing you should know is that he and his wife, Mattie, celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary a week before he died. That says almost everything else you need to know.
I spoke to his oldest daughter yesterday morning.
She said all the rest you need to know about her dad in one simple sentence.
“He was my hero.”
And the other two children echo her sentiments.
As I drove out of Reynolds today I had one thing on my mind. You just don’t see many people like Ted Parks anymore. Another member of the “Greatest Generation” who helped pave the way for the rest of us has passed away.
And I just don’t think we are replacing folks like that.
1 comment:
I too have known Mr Ted all my life and he was a good man. I enjoyed reading this blog because you told me some things that I didn't know.
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