teachers – Jeff Maddox

Thanks to all teachers past and present, you are all making a positive difference in these kid’s lives and I know you will continue to do so in the future.

Today I was graciously invited to lunch by my granddaughter Kylie, and this meant a trip back to White City for lunch in the school cafeteria. I must admit I was looking forward to it. Being an alum of White City School, I still find it hard to wrap my head around the grade school not having lunch in the little gym. Now, with the commons area between the high school and grade school, lunch would have a whole different flavor, if you will.

With second graders eating at 11:00 am I jumped on my motorcycle and headed home. I don’t normally eat this early but today it isn’t really about me. But unbeknownst to Kylie, and Casen who I knew would also be there, I’m the real winner. Arriving just a few minutes early, I have the opportunity to see some familiar faces. Small town life is like that – I went to school here, my kids went to school here and now my grandkids are attending the same school. There is a certain level of comfort in this. Today being “Crazy Hair Day” at school I didn’t have much time to prepare. Pulling my helmet off is about as crazy as my hair gets.

It’s great to see my grandkids in one of their natural habitats. I don’t usually have this opportunity, but it amazes me how fast they are growing and how they interact with their classmates. A wonderful sight for sure. Casen’s teacher Joni lives about a block from my daughter and Joni and my daughter Kelly’s kids are in the same classes. Again, it’s comforting to know this as I’ve known Joni and her folks for what seems forever. I’m friends with her folks and they ride motorcycles so there is that connection.

The one thing I do want to point out is this; I watched Kylie’s teacher Kim and Casen’s teacher Joni interact with their students and it was truly heartwarming. They care. They are educators but believe me what I saw today told me they are so much more than that. Their students react to them and it shows. Now I know, this isn’t just a proud grandparent saying these things – these are teachers that have an impact on these children’s lives each and every year, much like my teacher’s impacted me through school. In fact, there are a few teachers teaching in White City right now that are the children of the teachers who taught me. Crazy, but cool.

Thanks to the staff at White City School for the hospitality today. The food was great, and thanks for taking good care of my grandkids. Kim and Joni – thank you too for all you do! And to all teachers past and present, you are all making a positive difference in these kid’s lives and I know you will continue to do so in the future.

Never give up. Easy to say, but oh, so hard to do. The path of least resistance can become quite the habit for many, but for a few they will settle for nothing but the best. But what about an average guy like me? I can dream, can’t I? Sometimes it takes goals (lofty goals at that) for them to be reached. Why is that? Goals are the easy part, it’s the doing that takes the effort. And of course, never giving up.

It’s easy to say “maybe someday,” but to actually find yourself achieving a goal you put forth – goes to show you if you want it bad enough, you can make it happen. How bad did I want this? Not as bad as you think. It seemed so far-fetched that it was more of a dream than an actual goal. This isn’t something I’ve been thinking about since I was a child, but only recently did I have the urge to put my thoughts into words. I think from a deeper sense, it was all the years of reading motorcycle publications over and over that put me in this spot. If it’s true “you are what you eat,” then surely you are what you read. And as luck would have it, I’m always hungry.

I could go all philosophical here and say it’s destiny – or that all things happen for a reason; and although I do believe in destiny and the whole ” happen for a reason” thing, I also believe you can make your own opportunities as you plug away through life. Slow and steady might get your there, but it has a lot to do with timing. Just the idea this could happen to a small town guy twenty-five years ago seems improbable without the help of the internet. As for my location, it isn’t in the heart of the motorcycle industry. The world is a much smaller place to me as an adult, but seemingly too big for a teenager with other things on his mind, to make the most of it. I’m not sure Mrs. Lawrenz in freshman typing class or Mr. Sweeney in English were convinced I was capable of putting my thoughts into words in 1977, but they should see me now – spelling my words all good (more better?) and using most of my fingers. They believed in me I’m sure, but I knew me as a freshman and, well… But that is exactly the point I’m trying to make here. You aren’t limited by the invisible boundaries we place around ourselves; we’re only limited to the boundaries of our dreams. The last time I checked, my dreams can be way out there.

I still have bigger goals I want to achieve, but even those seem like dreams at this point. Will I achieve them? To say “no” would undermine my own success, so I will plug away as I always do to make them a reality. It’s still a matter of timing and making your own opportunities, and it always helps if you have a dream to chase – and the support of friends, family and of course teachers!