School Story:
I attended Beech Grove Elementary school 1st--8th grades. I attended the 9th--10th grades in Houston, Texas but returned to Jasper for my junior year. The years in Houston had changed me. Instead of aspiring to be a physician, I had chosen the life of a professional thug. It was not a popular look to my fellow classmates. It also caused a lot of trouble. In the summer of 62, I joined the US Army. There I found direction/purpose and resumed my studies. I received my GED and applied for a certificate of completion from Jasper. I began college classes and finished a semester plus at Univ of MD. Subsequently I enrolled at SFASU and received a BS with honors. This helped me gain acceptance at Univ. of Texas where I completed Med School and a Masters in Public Health. I completed my post-graduate training in the US Army and am board certified in emergency medicine. It pays much better than being a thug. At 76 y/o age, I am still actively working in medicine. I am blessed. My favorite moment at JHS -- after a half semester of chemistry in Mr. Ortscheid's class, he moved me to the front of the class explaining that because of my performance on his tests that I should not be sitting in the back of the class with the "thugs". Thank you sir! I remember him fondly to this day.
