in memory of my first job and neighbor dr rick machmer

 so how it all started we moved to a new neighborhood (not too far from where we before the somewhat famous cavalier dr) i saw the neighbor a older southern type guy (white hair his pajama clothes black shirt black shorts) and he had a dog he was throwing the ball too (there was a glow in the dark ball too) and also it'd line up around times that like i'd be back from school something i'd see him there so one day i walked into his yard and asked if i could get a job walking dogs for him i think the set price we agreed on was $20 a week so um there were two dogs premier and premier two or p1 and p2 

so learning more about him (he had his ford explorer for years) i guess one thing that he said that stood out to me and i respected him for or was impressed with was i think he said when he was younger he was in the peace corps in africa um and later i'd see him do stuff like go on a vacation to germany and come back in a sweat suit he bought there um he'd have some souvenirs around his house from places he'd been that i think a few he offered to me before (i couldn't accept it but it was a presidential award he actually met the president before) also some stuff like a elephant horn um puppets and another was when he and what i think was his longterm friend they'd have a poker night \

another piece of trivia i think if i remember right he liked the rolling stones 

so through the years he was always up there in skyline court um i think at one point i lost touch with him i think i lost my job because i forgot to water trees in the backyard so that separating us um he was lots of times generous giving me extra cash around holidays or my birthday he gave me a sony stereo one time (and other stuff occasionally some cassettes) that i used for cds before it died out um coming back again one time it was weird but he picked me up in his car and i got in and he drove me to the bottom of the hill i remember too he had on the bob dylan album tempest i think and the song i think he said he liked was early roman kings he had a grin and i don't know what his dental work was or not 

i'd guess he was into george reeves as a hero um he was older (he reminded me of superman) and he'd show me like a twilight zone thing on the world getting medicated um i'd just think how much warmth he brought to the neighborhood like it being a snowless christmas and up there he'd be by his lonesome maybe see him in passing also his house was cool like when he was out of town and i'd go there but i didn't do anything ever i think one time i remembered i saw he had bottles lined up of maybe jack daniels liquor 

he was nice he was hard working he was old school or old fashioned i'd see his help i thought he came to my rescue at times i thought i was in danger like richmond student loan georgia retirement i believe he genuinely was nice to me almost like a lost son or something um later another name was mike mccusker who i thought would sort of become him some day 

when he got his new roof on his house or the cable in the house um the look of the different rooms the garage sterile and clean the backyard with the bird bath the living room the service dogs um the master bedroom the hallways the kitchen and the frozen steaks for the dogs too 

i remember before i heard word he died another was i had a scary court case um in theatres there was the batman v superman movie with the crazy spectacle of superman in court 

another time i saw him was when i got my new dog and it looked like i was pretty much all set up for the rest of my life it was we were walking by belle view boulevard over by sarah's dad and he sees me and we talk for a second i had my black and white party poodle puppy at the time with me grover i remember he said something like 'he's as cute as the devil' (still remembering his like strength or power or affluence or words for not being uncomfortable but him being strong and firm) 

a little bit of a funny story now that i somehow made it (it was a long way looking back the things i have and can do now) but it was i'd get rides home and sometimes i'd visibly notice african drivers and think some of these older guys remembered rick and were sad about that um when i was in high school and after school i'd go get the dogs 

i think he liked dune too i believe he gave me a copy of that but i never knew the rest of the stories that came afterwards one night i think i youtube'd some dune and it gave some spoilers about the series 

Frederick “Rick” Machmer | USAID ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

FREDERICK MACHMER Obituary (1940 - 2017) - Alexandria, VA - The Washington Post (legacy.com)