Any time an 81-year-old takes a nasty fall, visions of broken hips dance in your head. While Ken Pridgeon managed to dodge that bullet during a recent tumble, his right hand didn’t fare so well. And that is a scary thing for a lifelong painter … Continue readingPainter’s mission in life is to honor fallen soldiers
Several times a month I walk the campus of Lee College in search of students to interview. That’s the fun part. The not-so-fun part is finding a place to park. On this particular morning I opted for the auxiliary lot down the street. Good call, as … Continue readingForeign exchange student from Brazil growing up fast
“I want to be a high school track coach. I’m really inspired by my high school coach. I had her four years, since I was a freshman. “She was great. She was like a mom to all of us. She would say we were her … Continue readingRole model track coach inspires student
“I was born and raised in Baytown. When I look back on my teenage years, I think about Texas Avenue. The movies I saw. Hanging out with my buddies. Checking out the pretty girls driving by. It was like ‘American Graffiti’ via Baytown. “But when … Continue readingHe gets his ‘jollies and kicks’ from Baytown history
“I don’t think you can be a counselor and not draw on your own life experiences. At least, I couldn’t. “I grew up in a dysfunctional home in a military family. I’ve had a daughter who was very ill. I’ve had all of the things … Continue readingLife experiences help make her a better counselor
“My dad was a chemist, and I was always fascinated with that sort of thing. I did all kinds of experiments as a kid. I invented things. “When I was a junior in college I came up with light solution. All you did was add … Continue readingChemistry experiment lands him a wife for life
“I have run 25 marathons and 76 ultra-marathons. As of Jan. 1, including all my races and training, I have run 30,875 miles. But it’s not the long distance that kills you. It’s the short distance. “I was entered in a 3,000-meter race on June … Continue readingMarathoner survives cardiac arrest to run another day
“I’ve been involved in Relay for Life since 1999. I showed up at the Lee College relay that year and ran a marathon just for fun. After that, I got hooked and started raising money. Every year I would raise more money and run more … Continue readingHe enjoys running for a cancer-fighting cause
“Now it appears to be politically incorrect to be proud of one’s heritage. I’ve never known this country to be so divisive that now, in the eyes of certain people, it is not OK to take pride in one’s ethnicity. “Have we really come to … Continue readingIn divisive country, he plans to practice tolerance
“Back when the Vietnam War was going on, my parents wanted to take out a second mortgage on their house to send me to college. But I couldn’t let them do that. If I didn’t make it, I couldn’t live knowing that they were going … Continue readingRetirement perfect time to complete college degree