other than relatives, who has made a real in your life?

[grouchy]

For me, the first person to come to mind is Charles Whittington. From the second-eighth grades I went to a small country school in Bushland, Tx. There were twelve kids in my class.
Mr. Whittington was our principal and also taught social studies. He addressed all kids from age 12 up as Mr/ Ms. He could be very funny or very solemn depending on the circumstances. If you got in trouble you answered directly to him. Get into a fight, you both got swats and then he allowed you to go to the gym, put on gloves and finish the fight. When it was over, you shook hands and then went back to class.
He arranged lots of field trips for us. Museums, tours, etc. Because of him, I became passionate about all social studies with major emphasis on history and government. He had a very large personal library and continually lent me books and then discussed them with me when I had finished reading. He helped shape my life?
What about someone from your life that made a difference?

[ralph]

Jim Valero , heck of a good boss , he helped me out quite a bit over a period of about 10 years till he retired in 1992 . He was Chief of Engineering at my job and helped me out enormously . Same thing with a Gent named Mr. Scholler , he was a very nice guy , excellent boss and benefactor . And last but not least Charlie Cooke , he taught me all I know about boilers . He was twice my age , stood about 5 foot tall at about 90 pounds . He was a Welshman , served as an apprentice in the Queen's navy on a battleship . And then of course my parents but that's off topic but I must mention them .

[Twiggler]

Neighbors down the street. Parents divorced when I was in the 7th grade & Mom worked nights. Spent most of time down
there & I credit them with the values I have today. The family still calls me their adopted son.
Sadly all the ones I was closest to have passed.

[crocmommy]

Gosh....I'm thinking about this still. I keep coming up with family members so far.

[millergrovesue]

Neat stories, y'all.

Mine was Frances Kelly. She was a "spinster lady" who lived across the street with her father. My Mom has asthma and is allergic to almost all animals so we couldn't have a dog. Frances knew how much I loved dogs so she took me under her wing. She paid for me to attend dog training classes with her. She then paid all costs and took me to dog shows all over the state where I showed her Golden Retriever, Ginger, in obedience, and in one conformation class. There is no way to know how much money and time Frances spent on me. Every day, when she came home from work, I'd go across the street, get Ginger out of the back yard, and work with her in the street. Frances sat in her living room watching the news and drinking her after work Miller High Life. I loved and respected that woman so much. What an amazing gift she gave to a kid, from a poor family, who loved animals but couldn't have any!

[crocmommy]

Neat stories, y'all.

Mine was Frances Kelly. She was a "spinster lady" who lived across the street with her father. My Mom has asthma and is allergic to almost all animals so we couldn't have a dog. Frances knew how much I loved dogs so she took me under her wing. She paid for me to attend dog training classes with her. She then paid all costs and took me to dog shows all over the state where I showed her Golden Retriever, Ginger, in obedience, and in one conformation class. There is no way to know how much money and time Frances spent on me. Every day, when she came home from work, I'd go across the street, get Ginger out of the back yard, and work with her in the street. Frances sat in her living room watching the news and drinking her after work Miller High Life. I loved and respected that woman so much. What an amazing gift she gave to a kid, from a poor family, who loved animals but couldn't have any!

Neat story Sue. Funny that you still remember the beer she drank.

[millergrovesue]

It was her great evening treat. I guess that's why I remember it.

[crocmommy]

I've had a few choir directors since I started singing in my 20's that have really helped my spirituality and my joy of singing.

I also have a friend who's helped me get through my husband's illness. Very few people really know and understand.

[ann jusko]

I have many good people in my life but Mr Perry stands out. He was the physical director at our YMCA. He encouraged me to become a life guard, be on the swim team (along with my father). I ended up with 2 jobs by the time I was 15. At 14 you could get a work permit if you worked for a family member ( so II was what you'd call a pharmacy tech now) for my uncle. At 15 you could be a life guard. I still had school and athletics so it was a real juggle. But it always seemed to work out and I was very happy to be doing things I loved. When I "almost killed" mr. Perry when I took my Water Safety Instructor test, I knew I'd passed. He said "get out of it anyway you can!" And I did; I kneed him.

[Jim Jack]

When I was a senior in high school, we had a visit from a semi-retired photographer named Fred. He showed us the ropes and allowed us to use the darkroom at his business since the one at our school was worn out. That was 37 years ago, and I still use the photog lessons today. That includes his 'accidentally dropping your camera trick' that he taught us. Who knows how many victims of that gag I have tallied over the years.

The other one is kinda odd. We had a tech director at a school that was a tee-total jerk and couldn't deal with people who weren't in his little clique or who couldn't read his mind. He made my life miserable and for a while, I really regretted going to that school. Pretty soon I had to figure out ways to get my job done that were underhanded and devious because he couldn't be bothered to help.

In an odd way, it molded how I treated other teachers, no matter how exasperated I became with them. I'm not the perfect tech director, but I am a better person because I had to deal with that guy.