The Starting Gun

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Author Message Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 1238 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - 10:27 am:    110511 THE STARTING GUN [WITHOUT ALL THE BULLETS] by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Cincinnati, OH One of the young guys in our office came in the other day, glowing with the blush of one who received the letter informing that he has “successfully completed” the A.R.E.! He was, by gosh and golly, a for-real Architect! Uh, OK; kudos to him for having endured and successfully negotiated the perilous track of college, arch school, IDP and the exam!-- but uh, where, exactly, is he now and where will he go. Does he have everything he needs to practice without problems? Heady questions he may not have thought about. At supper time on December 10th, 1963, my Dad called me, and said, Congratulations, Architect!” “Pop”, I said, please don’t kid me like that”. “No kidding”, came his answer. He gave me the page number in the newspaper where the article was, but it wasn’t in my earlier edition-- so a “quick” 10 minute ride to my parents, and there, tucked away down in the comer just before the death notices [!], the short article “sparkled”. Oh, not about me alone, but about all 5 of us, including the City Architect who passed the exam. Now to buy an embossing stamp, a duplicate rubber stamp impression, and have a letterhead printed [required submittals for the examiners’ files]. By pure happenstance, the SPECIFIER arrived in my mail box this morning. I knew it was to be in the May issue when I started this article but not that it would be available so conveniently. Not plugging it, but “alerting” You might want to [and of course, I urge you] to check the HORIZONS column in the CS [p.12] for a piece I did some time ago and sent in. Erik Missio at CS saved it for this issue to “get more bang” since this is the AIA convention issue and perhaps the piece will find a few extra ears. Oh, by the way to the early-on question: Now were the two of us equally and properly prepared at that instance of life [professionally]? I do not discredit my young colleague and wish him well, but I think [and know] there is a gap of knowledge he needs to be aware of and fill. I know he will be better if he does, even if your professional work process lies elsewhere. You may think I am just an old man beating a battered drum-- but I’ll tell you I am playing a damn good tune!! Enjoy!