The Third Time Was A Charm For A Young Man With A Dream
Rich Simpson
Back in 2004, I told the story of my oldest son’s graduation ceremony at Georgia Southern University, in December of 2003. As the story goes, I sat there, as my mind raced back to all the years I spent watching this young man grow up.
The story was entitled: “I just wanted to hear you say it, one more time.”
This is a follow-up to that story.
Rich’s goal was to be a dentist. After graduation, Rich stayed in Statesboro and worked for a local Dentist, Dr. Hudson Powell.
The first time Rich took the Dental Aptitude Test, he did not score high enough to get into the Medical College of Georgia.
The second time was an improvement, but still not enough.
For a person to be accepted into dental school, you must have a combination of factors lined up to make an impression on the Dental Board. You must make a good impression during the interview process, have good references and do well on the Dental Aptitude Test.
Another factor, in Rich’s favor, was the practical experience of working in Dr. Powell’s dental office.
On December 9, 2004, my cell phone rang, and it was Rich. The first thing that went through my mind was he was calling to let us know he and Jaime, his girlfriend, were coming to our home, in Stone Mountain, for the weekend.
We talked for a couple of minutes, and then he told me he had gone to his house to eat lunch. While he was there the postman delivered a registered letter, it was from the Medical College of Georgia and they were congratulating him for being accepted into the incoming class of 2005! The third try was a charm!
Folks! I couldn’t talk! There was a lump in my throat and I simply couldn’t speak! I didn’t want Rich to hear silence, like those commercials where service drops off on one end of the conversation, so I started going “Wooo!”….
“Woooo!” I wanted him to hear some sort of response from me!
Exactly one week later he called our house to tell us he had tricked Jaime into meeting him at “Sweetheart Circle” on the Georgia Southern campus, where he kneeled down and proposed!
I don’t know how much time went by before I realized I would be the Master of Ceremonies for their Rehearsal Dinner! That was a great cause for concern!
I knew what I wanted to say, I simply had no idea, in this world, how I was going to get the words to come out, without crying like a big baby! I still had a few months to come up with a plan.
One night, as I was attempting to fall asleep, words to a poem started coming to me, like a gift out of nowhere! Line after line in rapid succession!
I headed downstairs to get my small tape recorder! Then I decided to just type it up on the computer. I didn’t want to lose what I had! In no way have I ever considered myself a poet, but these words were sounding pretty good to me! A free flowing poem that could be printed up like a church bulletin, placed at each guest’s place at each table at the Rehearsal Dinner, and I would be home free! Words I wanted to say, but couldn’t find a way to say, in print!
The following is how my poem to my son appeared in the program at Rich and Jaime’s Rehearsal Dinner, in Sylvester, GA, in the summer of 2005:
From Father to Son
Richard W. “Rich”Simpson, IV
to
Richard W. “Rich” Simpson, V
In loving memory of
Richard W. “Dick” Simpson, III
1910-1996
Words On The Tip Of My Tongue
Through the printed word I’ll have to relay,
what the lump in my throat won’t allow me to say,
words on the tip of my tongue.
When I first saw you in the incubator,
special delivery from your creator,
I thought of the things that would come later,
words on the tip of my tongue.
When you first said, “I want to be like you,”
it sealed our bond just as good as glue,
words on the tip of my tongue.
That fateful first date in the spring semester,
with a sweet young lady from down in Sylvester,
words on the tip of my tongue.
Your groomsmen friends have grown into men,
and down the aisle comes Jaime, a “10."
words on the tip of my tongue.
A job through college, you pleased your boss,
now it’s teeth and gums and dental floss,
words on the tip of my tongue.
Family and friends and the golden rule,
will follow you through dental school,
words on the tip of my tongue.
You soared like an eagle high in the sky,
you and Jaime and Sigma Chi,
words on the tip of my tongue.
The time has come to spread your wings,
love and marriage and all those things,
words on the tip of my tongue.
I cherish the memories and the fun that we had,
twenty-four years of being your dad,
words on the tip of my tongue.
Love and care from your devoted mother,
your father, sister and your brother,
words on the tip of my tongue.
The laughs, the hugs, and all the love,
I still have your first baseball glove,
words on the tip of my tongue.
From this point forward, it won’t be the same,
but the rest of our lives we’ll share the same name,
words on the tip of my tongue.
A ray of hope became a sun beam,
a wife, a future, the American dream,
words on the tip of my tongue,
yes those words on the
tip of my tongue.