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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Gold Hill wants to slow down drivers on main drag ... Red flag warning in effect until late tonight ... Grants Pass gets grant for a sobering center ... Gold Hill wants to slow down drivers on main drag ... Red flag warning in effect until late tonight ... Grants Pass gets grant for a sobering center ... JACKSONVILLE 'A Hell of a Ride' Jacksonville man's life stories live up to the title of his memoirs Comment By Buffy Pollock Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 28, 2014 at 12:01 AM By Buffy Pollock Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 28, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Social News A life jam-packed with race cars, adventure, hard knocks and laughter has left former NBC cameraman Erick Lieder with more memories than a dozen men. Nearing 84 and recently diagnosed with dementia, those who know him say it's hard to imagine Lieder slowing down or not delighting friends and family with his stories. Still sharp, even Lieder acknowledges he could forget half his beloved tales and have more memories than most. Lieder turns 84 soon and only recently decided to give up the multilevel home he built by hand overlooking a hillside beyond Gold Hill. He settled into an apartment at Pioneer Village in Jacksonville with his wife, Geri, a pair of cats and a "man cave" brimming with keepsakes of a life well lived. Lieder recently released his memoirs, "We've Had a Hell of a Ride." By his side through it all has been Geri, who met Erick when she was 3 and he was 7 and the two were growing up in Rhode Island. She once refused to share her bicycle and yanked Erick off of it. Erick taught her to drive. Neither can remember life without the other. "When we got married, we had to elope," Erick Lieder said. "I didn't have a lot to offer as a prospective husband for her family." The couple took a train to Washington, D.C., where they spent the day sightseeing while awaiting word that her dad hadn't had a heart attack over the news. Then it was off to California. "L.A. was about the farthest we could get from Rhode Island," he said. "They had said if we got married, bad things were going to happen." Settling in Burbank, the couple found jobs working side by side retouching blueprints for Lockheed Aircraft. Erick later worked for a car dealership. "I worked at a place called Coventry Motors greasing cars. One day Humphrey Bogart came in. I ended up delivering a car to their home and getting to meet him," Lieder said. Lieder also had a knack for camera work, freelancing jobs to earn extra money. His shoots included "midget" race cars, a nuclear power plant and even local news for a paper in Anchorage, Alaska, he said. Lieder credits his adventures to a lifelong curiosity, good fortune and a habit of being in the right place at the right time. "Our life has been full of wonderful coincidences where five seconds later or five seconds sooner, there are so many times our whole lives would've been different," said Lieder. The couple were nearing rock bottom in L.A. when an agent Lieder had worked with years before tracked him down to offer him his biggest break yet. "Outta the blue, I get a phone call from this agent I had worked with and he said, 'How would you like to work for NBC?'" Lieder recalled. NBC had a contract to film professional football games for a year and needed four dozen cameramen.  "The camera had no viewfinder and I wanted to do a good job, so I took a coat hanger in the motel room and rigged one," he said. Lieder later traveled the country to film various sports events and eventually made his way into the studio, where he filmed dozens of stars, including Bing Crosby, Mel Brooks, George Burns, Aretha Franklin and Red Skelton. In his 70s, when many retirees slow down, Lieder built his own multilevel house and dreamed of racing cars. "When I was 16 years old, I started going to midget auto races," Lieder said. "That was before stock cars. Midgets were a big thing. I would go and see these cars and think, 'Someday I would like to do that!' "I told Geri that when we finally had a home that was all paid, furniture that was all paid and a car that was paid, then I could race. Of course she said, 'Fine,' because all those things were a million miles away," Lieder said with a laugh. Starting when he was about 70, Lieder informed his wife that he "wasn't getting any younger." "I should have just said, 'I don't remember that deal!" Geri jokes. Lieder built his own cars and raced for a half dozen years, making an impressive name for himself. He only crashed once — in a borrowed car. Lieder's quick wit and engaging stories have friends and family questioning his diagnosis of dementia. His next project? Documenting the progress of dementia for anyone who might one day end up in his shoes. "Doctors said my heart might even get me before the dementia. I feel fine but I notice little things that could just be because I'm in my 80s," he said. "I try to write things down in case it might help someone else know what to expect." The title of Erick's memoir, Geri said, couldn't be more appropriate. "Most people wouldn't even believe, even if they read the book, all the things we've been able to do," she said. "It's been a wonderful life and definitely a 'hell of a ride.'"  A book signing is planned Jan. 9 at Pioneer Village in Jacksonville. Call 541-702-1804 for details.  Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . By Buffy Pollock Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 28, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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