Lots of memories of Ray going way back. He was, indeed, a true Southern gentleman with a dry sense of humor that he exercised often to general hilarity.

A few moments of comedy were unintentional, however, as when he showed up to CD New Castle one year with a new panel-mounted "shotgun" mic aimed (sort of) at his face. He was sniffing on a marginal day early in the contest and trying to radio down his orders to the assembled pilots on the grid. We couldn't hear much besides his audio vario, which--with robust volume--may have prevented him from hearing us. And, unlike with handheld or boom mics, there wasn't much he could do to get closer to the mic. As the stress rose in the air and on the ground, I'm not sure who was more frustrated, but we certainly had more fun laughing about it than he did.

RIP, Ray.

Chip Bearden