One grew up in Brookhaven.
The other discovered Brookhaven in his early adulthood and made it his home.
Their lives took opposite directions but wound up back in the same place.
Dick Morgan spent the first 18 years of his life roaming the streets of his tree-lined neighborhood, making countless friends at Brookhaven High School. A quiet, but popular student, his friends called him “Dicky.”
Upon graduation, Dick decided to enlist in the Army. Basic training revealed a coveted skill set that displayed an aptitude to fly helicopters. Several months of training at Fort Rucker prepared the now First Lieutenant Dick Morgan to ship out to Vietnam and command a Huey chopper.
Lt. Morgan survived countless missions over the next 12 months, narrowly missing being killed in mortar and small arm fire in assorted landing zones.
Returning home after his tour, Dick was promoted to Captain, served his remaining service time back at Fort Rucker as an instructor, and retired at the end of his four-year commitment.
I met Dick in the mid-eighties when he came to work with us at Barefield & Company, (now Workplace Solutions-Barefield.) He was not the classical “Type-A” salesperson but was trusted by clients and loved by his co-workers. He never talked about his Vietnam years, unless he gave in to my incessant pestering.
He endured many challenges in his life. His firstborn son, Craig, was born with severe autism and it was necessary for Craig to begin a life as an inpatient at Hudspeth Center. Later, Dick’s daughter, Lori, was diagnosed with liver cancer and died in her late-30s. In both cases, Dick’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam was suspected as a contributing factor.
But Dick never complained.
Several years later, in his late 60s, Dick developed Parkinson’s along with several other debilitating illnesses.
Captain Carl Richard “Dick” Morgan passed away on July 28, 2019.
Recently I was returning home from a quick business trip to New Orleans and decided to stop off at the Brookhaven exit and visit Dick’s grave at Riverwood Memorial Park in south Brookhaven. Alone with my thoughts, I reflected on my friendship with Dick. By no stretch of the imagination was he a wealthy man. But he often told me he was a “contented man.”
As the late afternoon shadows began to grow, I turned to walk back to my car. Glancing to my left I discovered a fresh marker with a familiar name.
Bernard John “Bernie” Ebbers. Died February 2, 2020.
The contrast of two distinct life journeys was not lost on me.
Bernie was from the very beginning an ambitious, doggedly determined businessman, whose reach became worldwide over the next few decades, while Dick was a loyal employee of the same company for many years and a friend with a self-admitted lack of motivation.
Dick never hurt anyone and saved many with his piloting skills in Vietnam.
Bernie hurt many, many people with the fall of WorldCom.
But he did a lot of good with philanthropic projects…. especially Mississippi College and his adopted hometown of Brookhaven. My kids and my pocketbook were great beneficiaries of his generosity.
Some people got really rich. Some knew when to get out. But others lost everything.
It really depends on who you ask as to their feelings about the legacy of Bernie Ebbers.
As darkness began to envelope Riverwood Cemetery I stared at both graves.
I have heard it said that “death is the great equalizer of men.”
The remains of two “sons of Brookhaven” lie almost side by side.
And I wonder what people think.
