Definition of Opinion:  A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.

Please be respectful to others with differing opinions. 

Frank Wiley

Hi David, I know where you live.  I'm sure you have a plan in case of tornadoes, but if you don't yet, please make one.  I drove through Oklahoma City on I-40 at about 11:00 AM a few years ago after a tornado went through the late afternoon/evening the day before.  I went through an area on the eastern side of the City.  I-40 was down to one lane from three lanes going east because the road crews were moving debris (mostly very large trees) from the freeway.  The crews were using large bulldozers but the trees were so large that they had to chain saw the trees into smaller logs so they could move them.  If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would have never believed it.  The crazy thing was that later that same day another tornado came through that same area but Thank God I was in Little Rock.  Please stay safe!

Cheryl Faulkner (Sucato)

I don't know if any of you knew Bill Pennington.  He graduated in 1966 but he was a lifelong friend of Ed's and became a friend of mine.  The obituary was too long to copy here but I'm including the celebration of life information should anyone be interested in attending. 

Celebration of Life will be held on February 22nd (2:00 PM) at Dignity Lakeshore Mortuary at Dobson Ranch. 1815 S. Dobson Rd, Mesa, AZ 85283. All are welcome to attend. www.lakeshoremort.com

David Rainwater

DeWitt and Frank:  thanks for the advice about tornados!  My daughter has lost two roofs over the years to those winds and I was well aware.  So, when we built, we lengthened the garage and had an above-ground storm shelter bolted to the concrete pad.  Now, if/when that tornado scoops up our house (a la Wizard of Oz), we'll be huddled in a metal box (full of spiders, I imagine) reconsidering our choices .  

Jim Coats

Cheryl.  I vaguely remember Bill Pennington.  I think I played against him in Little League Baseball.  More than that, I seem to remember he was involved in home construction....maybe his Dad first and then Bill.  I seem to remember that it may have been Cavalier Homes (Hancock was the main guy) that was started by Greg Hancock's Dad.  I think my Dad did some business with them way back around the same time he did some business with Sucato Masonry (if I have the name right).

I'll try to find Bill's obituary and see if it triggers more definitive memories.  Thanks for telling us.  I hope you're doing well.

Found the obituary.  Thank you.

Bill RIHS

Cheryl, thanks for sharing Bill Pennington's Celebration of Life, I knew Bill too, a good guy. I played baseball against him and with him. His dad was a great guy. My dad and I talked to him a lot at and after games. He offered me a job with his home building company, Cavalier Homes. I Security was heading for a mechanical engineering degree so I didn't pursue the offer. I may attend Bill's celebration of life.

Earl Harris III

 Classmates,

It saddens me that Katie has announced that she is leaving the Forum. For all our sakes, let’s hope that it’s only for a short period of time. While I haven’t always agreed with her approach in addressing others at the opposite end of the political spectrum, her opinions on any number of matters dealing with democratic governance, the importance of the “rule of law,” economic policy, human rights and immigration are worth consideration. 

I admire Katie’s willingness to weigh in on many of these issues, not only because many of my values align with hers, but because she has been, for the most part, a lone voice for liberal and progressive views. 

There has been a lot of mudslinging going back-and-forth between political combatants on this site for a very long time that has not been helpful, to say the least. But, none of us can claim that our poor choice of language, especially when it springs from deeply held values has been a one-sided affair. 

Sometimes our emotions get the best of us. As human beings, our visceral reactions can inflame others, leading to counter condemnations that often result in a rolling tit-for-tat exchange that is difficult to contain.

Things had gotten so out of control and stressful that I decided to take an nine-month break from reading or responding on this Message Forum from February, 2024 until after the General Election in November, 2024. I’m glad I did.

I don’t know how long Katie will remain off-line, but I am betting that she will find time to explore issues, speak-out, and work with people and organizations that closely comport with her values and beliefs.

Lastly, I do not believe she needs professional help as has been suggested by some. A break in the action, a time to decompress and reflect may be all that she needs at this point. It’s her decision, but I would love to see her back, sooner than later.

Michael Kelly

Im glad Katie decided to leave, although it is a wrong headed decision, because her "in your face' diatribe needs to be addressed face=0n by her, and she still takes refuge in blaming other people for her own offensive behavior. She'll make no progress going in that direction. She insulted me more than once, and I remained slient because I did not want this place to become too contentious. She has no control mechanism for some reason, and its not my occupation to 'Fix her" but she needs "Fixin". Openly insulting people is not in Andrew Carnegie's Book on How to Make Friends and Influence People. She needs to get whatever is bugging her off her chest. 

Ron Hendrix

                                                           THE GIFT

    It was Christmas Eve, 1955. Darkness had already settled over the neighborhood on Turney. It seemed 

   like we kids had been waiting forever to have that big whits truck rumble up and stop in front of our house.

 At this time in our lives, the return of the truck meant only one thing; finally it wouldn't be long before we would open our one Christmas Eve Present.                                                                                                                                    

    1955 was like every year. We peered out the window for what seemed like unending hours.  It almost didn't 

seem fair that Pop stayed out on the road working so long since we couldn't start our festivities untill he 

came home.  Finally, our dog barked and we could hear the big truck grinding to a hault.A short time later 

each son had opened his Christmas Eve present. It is interesting to me that after 40 years, I have no idea what the present was that I opened  that Christmas. What I do remember is what truly was , and is, important to children everywhere. My Dad did come home that Christmas Eve just like he came home every night. I understand now that he did have a choice. I also understand that not all fathers live up to the responsibility of raising a family. Some don't come home  every night. Some don't come home at all. I will always be grateful that my Dad gave me the most valuable gift in life. He lived his life in such a way that I can look at him as an example of how to live my life.

Be there for your family.       Be true to your word.      Be willing to help others.     ALWAYS put forth your best effort.    It would be a long list if I tried  toshare everything I've learned  from the example  of his life. I can tell you this.  Pop made choices in his life and the result of those choices provided me with the greatest gift of all.  My dad chose to be a true father and live his life as an example to me so that I would know how to make the right choices in my life  I don't remember that Christmas gift in 1955. I will always remember the GIFT of having a father  who was, and will always be, there for me.                                                                                  

I sent this letter  to my Dad  as a Christmas  "GIFT" many years ago..  He was "old school"  I still miss him  RH

.  

Earl Harris III

Ron,

Thank you for sharing your gift with us. It was very upifting. What a wonderful memory you have of your dad. I hope that you will find the time to share other stories with us.

Frank Wiley

Ron, Your Dad would be Proud of you and was Proud of you.  It's obvious that his lessons inspired you by the way you live your life!'!  Thanks for sharing but you mentioned it was 40 years ago and you were 10 years old.  I know you feel young but that was 60+ years ago.  Oh well!

Bill RIHS

Ron, thanks for sharing your great letter and inspiration for all. I am sure your dad was a good man, husband and father as your letter discribes.

Jim Coats

Ron.  THANK YOU for posting your letter to your Pop.  It was sweet...real...and it 100% got to me.  That's the kind of "look back" that is healthy and good for the soul.  Your Pop knows he is not forgotten.

Bill RIHS

After thinking and memory responses, Penningtons owned Cotinental Homes. Hancock had Cavalier homes. I get mixed up on who owned what. Anyone really remember who owned what?😎

 

Jim Coats

Bill.  It looks like you're right, but I would have sworn that Bill Pennington's Dad was #2 in Cavalier Homes.  Memory sure fades.  

Michael Wetzel

Ron,                                                                                                                                                                             Excellent, wonderful post. Thank you....

Out of four years in the WH, biden took 577 ( 39% ) days of vacation. Thats almost a year and a half of his total days in office. Even when he was in office, at the WH, he had zero thoughts of what his actual duties were as president. His handlers prepared all of his work for him. So, I know while on vacation, he mind was totaly blank, empty. This from a guy, who could not even locate the entrance door to the WH. Who fell each and everytime trying ( sometimes multiple times ) to mount the stairs upon entering an aircraft... I wonder just how many millions and millions, it cost us, the taxpayers to pay for his vacations ! .... This is the man, that the socialist, still wet their nightie tidies, at night for............

Bill RIHS

Jim, now I am questioning if Bill's dad owned or was running the business. I can't even remember his dad's name. I just called Mr. Pennington. Memory sucks😩.

DeWitt Bacon

I'm confused. Is Katy leaving the forum or not? She has announced her leaving before but keeps bouncing back. I don't think she can ever leave. She is too strongly opinionated. Most of her talking points come straight out of the lies of the left-wing news. Rachel Madcow and her are so far to the left of Stalin that they believe anyone to the right of that is fascist. Yes, lately, I have enjoyed trying to throw some truth her way, but, of course, she keeps firing back with her quips. It's like playing a fun game with her. I win. You lose. lol

I guess I don't have to worry about her reading this. After all, she has left the forum. Right?

DeWitt Bacon

Quote of the day:

“I’ve got a lot of friends that are Democrats, and they have never asked me for advice. But if they did, I would tell them, look, you just got to try harder not to suck...”

Sen. John Kennedy on Hannity

Lester Cox

Gem Pennington was president of Continental homes. It was basically owned and controlled by Charlie Keating. But Gem ran the company day to day. I think Gem started at Staggs built home, Ralph Staggs was the owner. I met both of those guys, really did not know them well. Early on in my career, I was with Walker and Lee of Arizona, a company based in California. I had about 10 to 12 builders that I ran sales for. I was also VP of sale for Presley when we started and built Ahwatukee and after that I went to Suggs homes where I convinced them to buy a parcel I was aware of and we developed a new line of product and my wife and I sold the entire 373 home subdivision in one year. I knew most of the old line guys, Staggs, Presley, Marlborough, Knoell, Bradley and Suggs to name a few. Bill Pennington worked in sales at Continental. 

Bill RIHS

Thanks Lester, I stand corrected, bad memory😢. Was Gene Handcock Cavilier's Homes owner? Anyone remember Greg Handcock, pitcher I played baseball with at Camelback? He had an older brother I can't remember his name, pitched at ASU and played a few years in the pros. Did you know the Suggs and Bradley guys? They built great homes. My first home was a Suggs home in Tempe.

Lester Cox

I knew Elmer Bradley. Elmer, Tom Owen's from Suggs and Knoell folks used to meet every week at a pirate place around Baseline and Rural for coffee and to discuss who would build here and there. They really controlled most development of Tempe. Greg Hancock came to work at Suggs in about 1980. Not sure how long he was there. I left Suggs in 1978 and my wife stayed to finish off our tract. She was actually the number one sales person nationwide in 1978 for US Homes, which owned Suggs by then. Gene Hancock did do Hancock homes. Del Trailor was another good old time builder. Ralph Staggs was a real character. Ellis Suggs was still coming to the office in 1978 but Tom Owens was really running the show by then. Very interesting times, lots of fun being around all these guys. If my memory serves me correctly Gene Hancock started Cavalier and later changed to Hancock homes. Allied and Cox homes were a couple other players. I think that was Gene Cox, no relation. Also, the California builder invasion started with Presley, Marlborough, Ponderosa and Mission Viejo who co-developed the Lakes with El Paso Natural Gas. 

Lester Cox

Hey Bill, I also owned a couple Suggs homes and yes, they were a great builder in their day. In Tempe, starter home was Knoell, move up to Suggs and top off with Bradley. I think I paid like $82K for a Regency in 1978, Southern and Price. Tempe Royal Palms 15. The subdivision I did with them was Southern Palms at Southern and Hardy. 

Jim Coats

Bill.  SKIP HANCOCK.  I don't think he had much of a career in the "Bigs."

What about a Gary Gentry, a pitcher, who graduated from CHS in '64 I think and won a game for the Mets in '69 World Series.

Those were the days.  I used to hit Greg Hancock like batting practice in Pony League, or whatever it was called.

P.S.  My Dad met Del Webb when he was a carpenter.

Lester Cox

Jim, you've jogged my memory a bit more. I think it was Skip who came to work at Suggs. As I recall, not too well liked, a bit arrogant and did not treat people that well, at least that was what I was told, as I had already left that company. 

Bill RIHS

Lester, obviously you were intrenched in the home building business. My first home, '76 in Tempe Suggs home at George Drive and Sourhern. It's just east of the 101 now. There was/is a mix of Suggs And Bradley homes mixed in our neighborhood.

Jim, Skip! You got it! Gary Gentry, played him too and  never thought he Was that good, he really was!. He was a Workd Series winning pitcher with the Mets. It's fun trying to bring those memories back.