Fred Marston Mayes, Jr.

I have worked for the Federal government since I graduated from U. of Okla. in 1970. I got married 6 days after I graduated to the same wonderful girl I'm married to today. We adopted 2 children from Russia in 1992 and 1998, and they have been blessings. It's a good thing that I keep in good physical shape, because kids don't know you're older when they ask you to play baseball or tennis! I still enjoy sports, but my main avocation is music--singing, instruments, directing, and a bit of composition. I have lived in Maryland ever since I started working for the Federal gov't., but I never lost my love for Texas. I was privileged to be selected for the Bethel Bible 2-year teacher training program, and it really opened my eyes to understanding what the Bible really means. I have no plans to retire because I enjoy my work, but when I do, I hope it's to Kiawah Island, SC.

My favorite school story involves one of our beloved teachers, Gloria Snyder. One day in the spring of 1966, I got wind of a plan some guys had set up to have a "Grub Day" and come to school looking grungy. I thought this was pretty stupid, so on the Friday of "Grub Day" I dressed up to the nines and put a sign on my back saying, "Support Grub Day." Satire, right? Well, everyone did--except Gloria Snyder. She confiscated my sign and gave it to Mr. Jeter. Eventually I wound up in his office trying to explain the unexplainable out of context. Jeter gave me 2 detentions for "UNACCEPTABLE ADVERTISING!" It didn't really matter, but I was really annoyed and held a grudge for many years. Then a few years ago when I was visiting a classmate in McKinney, I told his dad the story. His dad, who was 94 at the time, said, "Well, I bet it's hurting you a lot more than it is her." I realized that he was right and that Mrs. Snyder was just trying to do her job the best she could figure. So now I can laugh about it.