One Of My Most Valuable Life Lesson's,

[seapower]

I went to a "ghetto" High School, because of the busing program's year's back. I was on the wrestling team and it was made up of all kind's of guy's, rich/poor, black/white, smart/not so smart. I wasn't that great of a wrestler, but I learned load's from my coaches and team mate's. One of my coaches was a former olympic wrestler, man he knew his game and went out of his way for those that were struggling with all sort's of stuff. I had another coach that was head of the math department and was a really focused caring guy. The teammate I remember the most was a black kid that wrestled 167. He had won several State championship's, he was also in my weight class and was the guy that I had to scimmage with. I hated it, everytime the whistle blew all I saw was mat, ceiling, light's, window's and then would find myself in the same position, pinned. This guy was soooooooo good, strong , fast and smart. There wasn't a move that he couldn't counter. He was also a brainiac in the classroom. While I was struggling with algebra, he was breezing through AP Phyics and Calculas. He had the most scholarship's I had ever heard of from top school's in the country, plus military academy's. I mean this guy had all of his stuff in one sock. His only desire was to become a neuro surgeon. Most of us didn't even know what a neuro sureon was back then. I lost contact with him after high school, but have no doubt in my mind that he followed through with his dream.


I didn't have much coming up, but I did have an old hand me down pick up truck to get back and forth with. Being that I had a ride and he didn't I would pick him up and drop him off from time to time. The first time I went to his house, I gotta tell ya' I felt very, very outta place. This guy lived in the absolute worst part of town. He had several sibling's and his mom was a single parent if I remember correctly. If I was to think of the worst house, in the worst place to live it was there. Car's jacked up on block's, everyone hanging on the street corner's, hardly a window that wasn't busted out.

I remember thinking, how is he doing this? Simply put, he didn't let his surrounding's dictate his future. He knew what he wanted and would do whatever it took to get there. I never once remember hearing complain about anything. Without him knowing it, he has been pretty much my "go to" when I felt thing's were getting too hard for me. I guess you could say at the ripe old age of 18, he was to be a role model for many year's to come.

I don't know where Arturo is now, but I bet I know what he's doing. I fully expect he has one of the best practice's around where he's living. Given the trial's of his past, I also expect he's got the more compassion than most Doc's. It was truely a very valuable lesson he taught me. Moral of the story is; no man has a choice about where his life start's, but has the choice about his future. Frank

[Big Fish Billy]

Good story.......

[Agitated88]

Nice read Frank...

[Robja]

Well put Frank. Your last statement is dead on. I had a similar friend in high school. He grew up dirt poor in a bad section of town. I met him in the 8th grade when the schools were integrated and I had to go to middle school in the hood. He worked hard to make good grades and he gravitated away from all his growing up friends. He was one of the few black guys that hung around with us. He worked his way through college and now has a thriving law practice somewhere else. He made the choice to make a better life for himself. On the flip side a lot of my classmates that grew up with the silver spoons in their mouth are now working minial jobs. It is a shame they could not learn something from those that had it hard growing up and chose to make a difference.

[clt_capt]

Frank - Thanks for a good read. One of my very close friends in High School was very similar - Mark was from a family living in "public housing"
but it never showed - He was the salutatorian of my HS class, as well as an all state wide receiver and track star.

His hard work got him a scholarship to Columbia and then to Med School and finally a very successful practice.

He never looked for special treatment, never played the race card as an excuse, and he earned everything he got.

I am proud to call him my friend.

[jaws]

Good story Frank, I just have one question. Would you still be wrestling in the same weight class?

[Big Fish Billy]

Good story Frank, I just have one question. Would you still be wrestling in the same weight class?

Oh boy............

[seapower]

Believe it or not, pretty close to it. I have have a body that makes young guys pissed. When fishing I like to pull the ol' shirt off to soak up some ray's. They alway's request that I put the shirt back on, I figure it has to be jealousy!

The point of the story has nothing to do with my HS team mate being black. I mentioned that he was simply to make the case for all the bleeding heart's out there. The one's that have every excuse in the book why a man can't make something of his life. If anyone had a steep hill to climb it was him, but he wasn't afraid to tackle the hill. Can't wasn't in his vocabulay. Come to think about it, we were all pretty much pooras far as money was concerned) where I came up. I was raised in a Navy town, my father retired as an E-4, and that didn't come till late in his time. We all ahd hill's to climb back then, but we all knew how to make the best of what we had and didn't have to "have" everything. If we wanted something out of the "basic's", I had to work for the money. If we wanted to go to college, we'd better have great grade's, because scholarship's were the only way we'd get in. Many of us went into the military, because that's where we knew we could get the experience we knew we'd need later in life. Point is, we found a way TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. I don't remember very many bleeding heart's back then, just a bunch of hard asses, that were ready to put a foot in your behind if you didn't perform as expected. Yes, in my eye's they were the "good old day's". I still feel fervently, that anyone that has the desire to do what it take's, can still maintain and yes excell.


Keep giving a child or an adult an excuse why he/she can't and they simply won't. Frank

[jaws]

Frank, it has to be jealousy, I knew your point about the story. Thats the sad thing about today is nobody wants to work hard for something, they want A hand out. (check your pm)

[seapower]

You oughta know by now, that I can't send you a PM picture of myself!!! I appeciate the thougth just the same. Frank