A Collection of Columns

Book contains columns and observations published in various newspapers managed by Rick Rae during the course of his half-century career in the business.

Book Review by Alice Queen of rockdalenewtoncitizen.com

Rick Rae loves his family and loves his cars.

That much is clear from a reading of his second book, "A Collection of Columns," a series of personal and observational essays the native of Canada - whose newspaper management career spanned some 45 years - has curated from a life well lived.

"I’ve been writing columns here and there, mostly internet stuff, and a couple of folks noted that I’ve been writing them a long time and they’re right; I think I started back in 1974," said Rae, 84, from his home in Loganville where he lives with Penny, his wife of 62 years. "Several people suggested I package the best of them and put them in book form. So I went ahead and did it."

Many of the pieces in Rae’s new book detail his automotive obsession (he bought the first of his 75 cars when he was 14 years old) and a number of vacations taken by his family. But the former publisher of the Rockdale Citizen, Newton Citizen and Gwinnett Daily Post also delves into a host of other subjects, including some "inside baseball" insights on the newspaper industry, his thoughts on music, and other significant (and not-so-significant) life moments.

Published by Indiana-based AuthorHouse, "A Collection of Columns" is Rae’s follow-up to his 2011 memoir "Not Extinct Yet," in which he details his many decades in newspapers. Rae said he worried that the subject matter of some of the columns might seem a bit antiquated, but he moved ahead with the project.

"Unfortunately, I’ve been at this so long that some of the columns are rather dated," he said. "I love writing about personal experiences, and the more I can get down on paper, the better I’ll like it, although I’m getting kind of old, I guess, for personal experiences."

Two chapters particularly amusing to Rae were written in recent years for a Canadian publication for which he once worked. One concerns teaming up with a co-worker who was a successful pool shark and the other involved meeting a young singer who became one of country music’s most beloved stars.

"I wrote two recollection columns for a former employer in Canada; they were about getting in a pool tournament and making more money than I had selling newspaper ads and also my meeting with Harold Jenkins, who would later change his name to Conway Twitty," he said. "I love to do that kind of stuff - I’ve got a few of those in my background."

The book’s final chapter was a column published in the Rockdale Citizen (which by then had a companion paper in Newton County) and the Gwinnett Daily Post on June 28, 2006, the day he retired.

When asked if he had plans for any more books, Rae said he’s got something on the back burner that he might want to release.

"One of my buddies in Canada who I grew up with is an author and makes a lot of money ghostwriting for Canadian politicians - it seems like everybody in Canada wants to have a book out," he said. "He suggested that I combine my love of cars and my love of music and do some kind of book about cars and songs. I’ve been thinking that might be a way to go. It’s been in the back of my mind."

One story that may well wind up in another book takes place during the time Rae managed a newspaper in the suburbs of Detroit and saw an up-and-coming performer that left an impression that remains today.

"I’ve never written about my times with Bob Seger when I worked in Pontiac, Mich.," he said. "When I worked there, every Friday we’d go across the road to a bowling alley that had a lounge and the guy playing there was Bob Seger... We’d listen to him until they shut the bar down at 2 in the morning - the whole newspaper used to come over and hear him perform."