“I tripped and fell into teaching. I played basketball at Spring Hill College and went into coaching. Teaching went with that and I started liking it. Instead of going back to school to finish my degree in engineering, I got a masters in education. Math always made sense to me. Once you can explain it, that is where the learning takes place. As much as I say I don’t like kids, I guess I like them. I like the interaction and giving them knowledge about things they don’t know. I am an extension of family for some of them. When they come to school, the interaction with adults affects them because they don’t have that at home. The kids are trying to find their way. I have been doing this for 20 years and still like coming to Le Flore High School every day. I can tell the difference in the younger me trying to do what was cool and the older me realizing I can be cool be being straightforward and they know they can come to me and ask me anything. I started when I was 22 and was so close in age with the students that I was scared to step on toes and say something they wouldn’t like. Now my job is to be straightforward and tell them they are wrong. They appreciate that. I get the gratification on the back end when they contact me to tell me what they are doing and thank me for being a positive figure. I could also be a negative influence and it has forced me to look at my own actions. People expect you to be in teacher mode even when you aren’t on the clock, so you don’t want to be a different person out there. It is weird to be out at a bar and run into one of my students, especially one freshly graduated. One of us shouldn’t be there. I used to try to please everyone and make them happy but I have learned to care less sometimes because you can’t help everyone. Sometimes kids don’t listen and you have to let them hit bottom, but you still try to give them words or something they can remember. Some just don’t listen and they need tough love. Some have given up on themselves or have been passed through the system and you have to be tough and tell them no, but kids are resilient and they will figure it out.”

“I graduated from Vigor school and I was an athlete, but I was a nerd. I brought home a C once in high school and it was the last C ever made. I remember that whole day getting fussed at and knew my parents saw the potential in me. You have to find the angle to motivate some of these kids. They just want to make C’s and get by. I tell them the grades they are making are costing them thousands of dollars because they will have to take financial aid instead of scholarships. That is taking money of their pocket. It doesn’t take much effort to make A’s and B’s. They have a lot of distractions and the worst is the 8 Ball Pool game. It has taken over. I take up their phones in class.”

“I can retire soon, but I probably won’t and I don’t want to try any other career. I still like getting summers, holidays and weekends off. I may move to a college level one day and retire from there. I do a little adjunct at Bishop State and it is different with adults. You get older and your patience and tolerance are a little less. The vessel may look different each year but the problems keep repeating themselves. I have seen some that I didn’t think would make it, but they graduate college. It comes down to sink or swim and they swim and I get an invitation for graduation.”

“I have coached basketball for 15 years, but I am taking a break from it now. My baby is a year old and my teenage son and daughter live in Atlanta and I am always on the road to see them. On Wednesday evenings I teach a swingout and line dancing class. It is a mixture of West Coast swing dance and Chicago style two-stepping. It has migrated to our version in Mobile. I saw a guy who was also 6’4 doing it. He was my size and looked good doing it, so I started taking classes. It is a stress reliever and I like to dance. It is gratifying to help people learn how to dance. There are so many line dances out there. From there it grew into also being a DJ at parties.”

“What about the socks?”

“The colorful socks started a couple of years ago and I started liking the cute designs and some matched my outfit. Now I just buy them. I probably have 100 pairs of socks. They fill three drawers. I am about to overflow. My wife told me to stop buying. I am starting to get into bowties. I am late on bowties.”