I'm a graduate of the University of Arkansas. This column is to fill in a few of the blanks of those college years. After graduating from Norphlet High School, I entered the U of A, and I spent my freshman year enjoying college. I squeaked out a 2.00 grade point average, and I spent the following summer working at Macmillian Refinery to help pay college expenses. I was anxious to start my sophomore year, but college life was about to change for me. It started with a phone call the first week of school.

"Mason! Mason!" Someone had answered the dorm hall phone, and he was yelling. He said as he handed me the phone, "It's your mother, and she sounds upset."

I grabbed the phone and said, "Momma! What's wrong?"

"Richard, your daddy has been in a serious car wreck!"

"What? How bad is he hurt?"

"He is seriously hurt. You need to come home as quickly as you can."

Thirty minutes later, I was on the edge of town hitchhiking, but since it was late in the day when I started, I only made it as far as Camden. After spending the night in a $2.50-a-night hotel room, I made it down to El Dorado the next morning by 9 a.m. My dad had some serious head injuries, and he died a little over a week later. My college professors were very understanding, but after catching up on the missed tests and assignments, I was faced with other........

© El Dorado News Times