Happy Birthday Lee “Doc” Rhea

My friend is a prime number like me today! You’ll have to figure out the number since I don’t really want to disclose it without his permission.

I wish I did post this sooner or via the scheduling in WP but I’ve been distracted this week courtesy of the new Mini and numerous other things which weren’t earth-shattering.

Moving along…I met Doc 20 years ago during the greatest Milwaukee-Marquette Summer of 1989. Little did I know how much he’d change my life for the better. Hell, I certainly never thought such a thing 15 years ago when there was beaucoup friction. We got through it and I feel it made us better friends when the bridges were rebuilt.

It’s his birthday which means I want to go on about him, not me or what he did for me.

Doc has led a pretty interesting life. Raised in Eastern Tennessee (near Knoxville), he attended the big school of his home state, the other UT, aka the Vols (Volunteers) and went on to work for several universities including his alma mater. Obviously we met during his two-year stint with Marquette as the hall director of Schroeder (the Cabrini Green of dorms) and Tower. I was very sad to see him go in 1990 for Lamar University in Beaumont, TX (currently a satellite of Texas A&M) yet Doc was off to a big promotion. I think he was a dean or director there. Then came the radical departure to Austin for film school. Three years in Japan as an English teacher followed along with his marriage to Masami.

Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to be on the route for Doc and Masami’s trek through the US until they arrived at their current home around Knoxville. They originally got married in January 1999 but put off their honeymoon/vacation to coincide with Doc’s assignment in Japan ending during the following Summer. It was more than a trip, it was a homecoming for him but through a long, meandering route. They went to Thailand first, then Kenya, Egypt, Italy, France and England. After the UK they flew in to Houston. There our mutual friend Eiko picked them up and had them stay a couple days to catch up. Eiko and her husband brought them to Austin where I introduced Somara while trying to accommodate my jet-lagged friends in a modest-sized apartment. I was the beginning of the final leg of their long journey to Knoxville.

Currently Doc is working for his alma mater and putting his expertise with foreign cultures to use (our time at University Towers certainly contributed to this). How I understand his description goes like so: he assists candidates from other nations come to UT to earn their graduate degrees. A very simplistic synopsis but I imagine there’s a thousand hurdles to clear for every student he tries to help because of America’s xenophobia.

If you know my friend, drop him a line, card or e-Mail. He’s a cool dude and I will always owe him a big debt of gratitude on bringing me to Austin.

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