Late Ricky Lee Black leaves Autobiography on Troubled Life
Calhoun Times - May, 1980A Gordon County man who died accidentally in a fire May 3 has left a legacy in the form of a brief autobiography that his family feels he would have wanted published to help some other troubled individual gain a new lease on life. Ricky Lee Black, who was struggling to overcome a problem with alcohol, died in Chattanooga Valley when a heater exploded in a trailer where he was spending the night.
Black was en route to his home in Calhoun on a weekend pass from an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center in Chattanooga. He was sober and working days as an auto body man, and getting himself back together. "Publishing his story may make some other people stop and think, " said the young man's mother. He was the son of Carl and Lucille Black of Route 2, Calhoun, and made his home in Calhoun for most of his life.
Entitled "How Alcohol Has Made My Life Unmanageable," the story by the late Ricky Lee Black goes as follows:
"After I had turned 15, I got in trouble for burglary with some of my friends. I was in school about two days later when the law came after me and took me to jail. Then they transferred me to Rome Juvenile for a couple of weeks. I didn't know what they were going to do with me, but they finally came and got me and took me to a training school in south Georgia.
I stayed there for eight months, until I turned 16, and then I was released and returned home to my parents. I got me a construction job and went to work.
Later on, I got me a car and some driver's license, and I was 17 when I met my wife. We went together for about a year and then we got married and later had a little boy.
After that I got to drinking worse and worse, so it just led to problems, and more problems. So we finally separated.
After that I really did get to drinking bad. I guess I let it go to my head.
I started running around with a group of boys and that's when I began to get caught for drunk driving. I was riding around one day by myself drinking and met one of my old buddies. So we got together.
The boy wanted to drive my car, so I let him. We stopped and got a couple of cases of beer and got drunk.
Some how or another I got ahold of a gun from a friend, and put it in my car. As time went on, we both got drunker and drunker. So I wanted to go see my wife and little boy.
We went to the house where they were living. She didn't want to see me and wouldn't let me see my little boy, so I got mad and started trouble. They called the law, so we left.
By the time we got to the highway, the law stopped us. They searched the car and found the gun. They carried us both to jail and charged me with public drunkenness and possession of a sawed-off gun.
The next day I got out on bond. I was out six months on bond before I went to court. When I went in front of the judge he gave me six years in Tallahassee, Fla.
I did 16 months before I made parole. I got out and came back home. After I got home I found out my wife had divorced me, but tried no to let it bother me.
I found me a pretty good job and went back to work. Later on I fell right back into my old tracks again. I started drinking and driving again. It wasn't six months before I was caught for driving and drinking.
My parole officer found out about it and sent me right back. I spent 15 more months down there. I made parole again and got out. I found me another job and stayed out of trouble for almost two years. But I started drinking and driving in town, and everywhere. And I started getting caught again.
My parole officer found out about it. He wanted to send me somewhere for help. So he found this place for me to get some help and that's why I'm here - - to help myself, and others if I can.
I guess so many of you have heard the old saying: If you start down hill, you can't stop.
Well that's the way it's been for me for the past 11 years. But I would like to put a stop to it. I would like to make a 190 degree turn -- and start back up to the top.