Man Behind The Stache

Good evening, sorry about the delay tonight, got caught up studying for a test and watch some college basketball. I have had a request from the audience to reveal the man behind the "stache," so that wish will be granted tonight. As we speak I sit less than 24 hours away from starting Spring Break 09, a long awaited and anticipated event in these parts. I have had a busy academic and athletic week. I cannot wait to be lazy for a little awhile and take a deep breath away from responsibilities. So anyways on we go to explain the man, the myth, and the legend behind the "stache." All of the following is true.

I entered this world on December 20, 1986, at Parkway Medical Center in Cobb County, GA (the building is now a Home Depot after being demolished a few years ago.) I was a fat kid who was three weeks late and came in weighing about 9.5 lbs. As a child I had fat feet and had to get specialized shoes that were wide enough for me to wear them. When I was 4 I began playing t-ball and so my athletic career and introduction into sports was born. By the time I reached this age I had grown out of the baby fat and was a normal looking bowl-cut haired kid. This same year I also began pre-school and began playing soccer as well, which I would continue to play, along with baseball until I was 14. As a young lad I was a good, obedient kid, rarely getting punished and getting into too much mischief. As far as I can recall, I was still a pretty quiet kid, much like I am today. Very introspective and rational thinking. February 1991 brought me my little brother, Alexander, aka Alex.

In the fall of 1992 I began kindergarten and Sid slid to give the Braves their second straight National League crown. Also during my first few years in public school, my mother was a teacher at the same school I was at school at, Factory Shoals Elementary Dolphins. During these years I was entered in a few fun runs and road races and did pretty well for myself, finishing in the top part of each of these races. I also experienced my first "girlfriend", that lasted for a little while until she got cooties and I attended a different school, but I'll get to that shortly. The first week of my 2nd grade year I had the chicken pox and missed that whole first week, and got to switch teachers, pretty odd occurrence. After this year I switched schools because my mom quit teaching to have my little sister Katie, in July of 1995. Third grade began at Dorsett Shoals Elementary for me, tentative times having to make new friends and leave old acquaintances behind. But times were still good, the Braves won the World Series that fall, one of the greatest experiences of my life. My Dad and I had the privilege of attending a couple of playoff games that year, including the clinching game against the Cincinnati Reds to make it to the World Series. Good times, good times. I continued to press along, rarely missing days of school, enjoying the recess time and doing well in Geography and Spelling Bees. My fourth grade year my Little League team won the local championship, another highlight of my life. Also around this time we started going to this local pool where we became members of. I did not yet know the joys of "laying out" and "tanning" so I spent a lot of time swimming, doing weird stuff underwater that kids do, as well as seeing how many times I can jump off a diving board in an hour.

After I "graduated" from elementary school in 1998 I proceeded over to Chapel Hill Middle School. These were the lean years for me, going through a lot of physical and emotional changes. Had to make some more new friends and got to experience having a locker and having to change classes for the first time. My seventh grade year I tried and failed to make the football and basketball teams, not much need for a slow footed, average height white kid on these teams. But I did make the track team this year, running primarily the 2 mile in the purple and white of the Wildcats. This was also the first time I won some races, a couple of 2 mile victories and running an 11:38 during the season. I also ran some in the mile, running around 5:30, after starting the year around 6:00. This was also the year I got dropped on my shoulder by this kid, a few days before our county meet for track. Very painful, could not lift the arm above my shoulder. My eighth grade year began with my mom deciding to go back to teaching and my little sister beginning kindergarten at the same school. My brother was at his 3rd school in 5 years, we never moved, just circumstances led to his moving around, pretty tough on the kid I would think. My brother is 4 grades behind me and my sister is 4 grades behind him in school. Nice family planning. This year also saw the transition to the middle distance in track, switching over to the 800m, where I ran 2:20 as a season best. During these all of these years, we also went on many family vacations, some more notable than others, but all memorable experiences shared by all.

Summer of 2001 after I had completed the tumultuous middle school years, I began to run cross country and so began a different life and a whole different can of worms in which to deal with. My mind was open to the aspects of training and being able to hit certain times, and trying to figure out how to run fast. I made some new friends again during my time at Robert S. Alexander Comprehensive High School, home of the Cougars. I proudly sported the red and black, went to some football games, did well in my studies, rarely missed school, and just had some good ole fashioned fun. By the time I reached high school, the braces and the bowl cut had long since been removed. I was still skinny but starting to grow upwards before eventually stopping around 72 inches, (6 ft. in height). Fall 2001 also brought us the tragedy of 9/11, a day I will never forget. I remember exactly where I was on that day and the events that went on in school. Teacher's barely taught and we were all in shock of the events of that day, no one knew what was going on. Also around the time I was transitioning from middle school to high school, we got a new dog, Sunny, a lab mix, who is a ball full of energy to this very day. We had had dogs when we were younger, but this was truly a "family" dog. During these years I started to really develop a sense of appreciation for history and sports. I have always kind of been what you would call a sports junkie, I have been watching SportsCenter on ESPN, ever since the early to mid 90s. I could recall batting averages of certain players, and could give the starting lineups for various sports clubs, especially baseball. My sophomore year I took an AP US History class, one of the toughest and best classes I ever took. I learned so much and had a good time in this class learning how to write quickly and efficiently. I took so many notes everyday until my hand would nearly come off, but it was all in good fun. I really appreciated the passion that my teacher had for the subject and her willingness to push us to our limits everyday to be able to pass the AP US History test in the Spring. I passed with a 4 out of a possible 5 points. All four of my years in high school, I went to team running camps in the summer with the cross country team. These weeks were always real fun and it was a good bonding experience for those that went. We went to a camp for 3 years at Brevard, NC and 1 year at a North Georgia camp my coach helped to put on. Many memories were shared here, some that I will never forget. As I progressed onto my last 2 years in school I began to look towards the future, and college on the horizon. Never thought the day would come to be honest with you, I remember back in the 6th grade when I realized I was just halfway through school and could not wait until the day would come and I could be "my own." The days flew bye those last few years and before I knew it I was walking up the stairs and shaking the principle's hand with a diploma in the other. I remember that I sat on the front row because of some academic achievement and because of name in the alphabetical order sequence. It was a little soggy and muggy it had been raining in previous days and it was a scorcher of a May evening. Not to mention the guys were all in black while the girls were in red. We had 300 graduates.

So I left for college in 2005, not knowing really what to expect and what new people I would meet. Something drew me to this place and I felt it was the right place for me. I was still running year round competing in both cross country and track for the Lees-McRae Bobcats under the guidance of Coach McPhail. I developed into a fairly decent runner and decided to become a business major. All the while, finally being able to show off my skill of growing facial hair. In high school I worked at a grocery store and had to shave regularly. My first year of college saw the development of the goatee, all year long it grew, sometimes red, sometimes brown, sometimes blond, but always in style. The next year as my running progressed, so did the development of the facial hair, the side burns came into play this year. Thick, black, and bushy and it also ran down the sides of my chin and jawbone, think Abraham Lincoln. Also during these years I began to get really cheap so I would only get my hair cut before school started in the fall and during the winter and summer around the school semesters. Long, shaggy, brown, thank the Lord for the ability to grow hair. No credit here goes to my Dad, all credit to Mom for this. I thank my Dad's genes for my physical appearance, and the ability to have a fast metabolism. The junior year brought about the best of the Bobcat teams at Lees-McRae, falling just 22 points shy of an appearance at the National Championships. A heartbreaking experience for all involved, and something that has taken awhile to get over with. During this year saw the appearance of, hold your breath, "the stache," as part of a full goatee and side burn setup. High quality to go along with the shaggy brown hair. My current senior year, my where has the time gone, I pulled off my greatest facial features yet. On a suggestion from one of my teammates, the Fu Manchu, aka the handlebars made an appearance in cross country season. It looked awesome, I cannot lie on this. Towards the end of the season I was forced to shave for a job interview, and for a period of about 4 months I did not shave and occasionally trimmed, but what was left was a full on beard. No holds bar on this, on motivation from one of my teammates I let the hair grow over the winter and returned from the wild and stepped out of my big rig truck with a beard that goes beyond description. It was so thick at one point that I could stick a pen right below my chin and it would stick in there, holding on by the cap. Quite a feat. I am sad to say these are the couple of days/hours of the "stache" and the hair, which has gone uncut and untarnished since mid-August. In this season of change I will return from the break as a new man, ready to take on the final days of my collegiate career. I know, I know it will be tough for some to handle, but trust me all will turn out just fine for my hair and "the stache," which is blond for some reason, odd since my hair is a dark brown, but I digress. This will be my last blog post from the confines of Bentley dorm in the mountains of North Carolina for a week.

I hope you enjoyed the story of my life and the learning about the man behind "the stache." There will be more tales to come and I look forward to many more days of good blogging in my future. Take care, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. Hugs and handpounds.

mb