I have seen many things in my life that were brought about through no effort of my own. If we stop and think back on our lives, we can see how things were orchestrated by a greater hand. There are many times when things happen that we don’t realize their true value at the time, but sometimes we just know from the very beginning.
I remember the first day I walked into the sixth-grade classroom at Jenkins County Middle School. I walked in and smiled. I can name almost everybody that was in the class on that fateful day so many years ago. There I was, the new kid in school, but I was readily accepted into the class.
I knew from the start that I had struck pay dirt from that day. Many years have passed since that first day, but the friendships that were forged back then have endured space and time. To this day, although life has taken us all in different directions, we have remained steadfast in our devotion to one another.
We had such fun times back then, but we received instruction, education and love. We also received discipline when necessary. I realize it’s hard to imagine the fact that sweet little me needed discipline, but I did. I remain thankful that I received all those things so long ago. We had a pretty special class, and we made lasting friendships with each other as well as those folks who were instructing us.
Our principal at the middle school was David Adams. He was a good man. I have many fond memories of my time under his watchful eye. He took us on a memorable trip to the North Georgia mountains. I also remember the sound his paddle made when he was doling out licks to my backside. He was a gem and we loved him.
The day came when our time at the middle school drew to a close. We were headed to high school! Of course, I strolled into the high school like I owned the place. I found out pretty quickly that I did not. We had not one, but two men who showed me who was in charge. Larry Johnson was the assistant principal, and Danny Bennett was the principal.
Mr. Johnson was actually my cousin, but I received no special favors from him. In fact, I might have been treated even more firmly. Mr. Bennett was stern and at the time we did not care for him very much. He stayed on us and made us act right even when we didn't really want to. I will interject that both of those men were quite proficient at swinging a paddle.
We were kids, we needed discipline and both of those men gave that and so much more to us all. In the years following high school I became quite close to Danny Bennett. I had gotten older and realized he did all he did to help us. I gained a profound amount of respect for him and Mr. Johnson. The day I learned that Danny Bennett had passed on, it moved me deeply.
In the years since we have lost Mr. Johnson as well. My mind goes back in time as I type out these words. I remember the time spent with both of those men fondly. I don’t know exactly how many times they paddled me, I do know it was a lot and I’m sure it was probably not as many as I deserved.
There were other men at the school who were instrumental in our lives as well. I had no way of knowing that almost forty years later they would both still be a constant in our lives today. Coach Miller and Coach Yaughn. We developed a very special bond with those two men that continues to move forward in our lives even now.
All of my buddies were into sports and I was not. They played ball while I worked at the grocery store in the afternoons. Coach Miller and Coach Yaughn coached the baseball team, and all my buddies were on the team. I did make it to quite a few games to support them though. Coach Yaughn has always said I brought heckling to the game of baseball.
Our two big rivals were Metter and Louisville; I never missed those games. I was there to antagonize their players. I would get them riled up hoping it would affect their performance on the field. At the time they did not like me very much, but over the years I became friends with the boys from Metter and Louisville.
Somewhere along the way Coach Miller and Coach Yaughn started having cookouts for the baseball team and I was always included. They have done it for a number of years, and I have always gladly shared my culinary ability at these events. It has been such a memorable occasion.
This past weekend we organized a reunion of all the boys at a friend’s house in Statesboro. It has been thirty-seven years since we walked (I ran) off the football field with diplomas in hand. We had not been together as a group in a number of years, but it felt like we had not skipped a beat.
We cooked, we ate and shared old stories. We had a wonderful time together just like always. It is such a huge blessing that we are all still here and are able to spend time together. Coach Miller who is 79 and Coach Yauhn who is 78 were both in attendance. We were incredibly thankful that they both were present and accounted for.
Since Saturday afternoon I have thought so much about all the men that I have mentioned in this article. They were principals, coaches and disciplinarians, but most of all they were and are just damn good men. We owe them all a huge debt for doing what they did so long ago. All of these men have spent their lives, their careers, impacting young lives and we are all so incredibly grateful.
