Blog 3

Blog 3 

I made the decision to talk to my parents for this blog and the reason is because they are the best people I knew of to tell about stories about the past that were about were in the area were my parents. I didn't know what exactly to ask about or what kind of stories I wanted to hear so I simply asked if they had any stories about her past.

My parents (2015)  

She talked a lot about when she was kid and how different everything was and what it was like to live in New Phila back then and on a farm. She focused comparing on then and now. She put heavy emphasis on how connected people were to their community members. She told how when she was young and lived in town every day she would go around with the other kids to the park or to the store or to each other’s house. She said “one mom was everybody's mom”, “any mom would spank you or tell you what to do.” She told how nobody had fences and how everybody sat on their porches and talked to their neighbors. Not everybody was independent and keeping to themselves. In addition to that everybody tended to have their own gardens even in the city and do whatever they could to support themselves for free. When she was young and lived in New Phila they still had a milkman that would bring milk in a horse drawn carriage and she said, “All the kids would run out to pet Dewie (the horse) every time he came.”

I really like all that she told me, and it made me really think of possible ways to make our current communities more connected like they once were.  The kids and the adults. Kids today in towns and cities do connect and hang out in groups but there isn't a special sense of community between families and neighbors like there once was.

My dad told similar stories though his were a lot more mischievous. He told stories about the things he did with his friends when he was young. Things like playing stickball in the street and playing the cards on the bus to school. There were also things like hiding and throwing tomatoes at cars driving by at night. Things that would have surely gotten them in trouble had their parents found out. He also told a story about the small jobs he would do in the summer. Lawn mowing was something he did and between each yard he would push the lawn mower to the gas station and fill it up for the next lawn. One year to pay for a vacation he and his brothers spent months collecting thrown out bottles and cashing them in for the few cents they were worth.

The stories from both are similar and paint the same picture of how much more connected everyone was in the past and committed functioned with far less outside help. I think these stories are important because, yes, we live in a different world today but that doesn't mean it can’t have the good aspects from ways of the past. I know that I would've liked to grow up in a hybrid society of then and now but I didn't but that doesn't mean my future children can’t. I hope one day we can again achieve a community with much more communication.

Summer of 1950-1960

Summer in the 1960's

Summer vacation experience's are different for every person. My grandfather Donald Scott grew up in the 1950-1960's. Donald was one of eight children in his family, four boys and four girls. He lived in East Rochester, Ohio. His family owned a farm and his father owned a mechanic's shop.Graduated from Minvera highschool in 1964. His family was poor but he always had school clothes, food and a roof over his head.

Summer are different today than they were back in the day, my grandfather didn't get exotic vacation he went to Washington D.C and California.  My grandfather told me that he didn't have an exact to preserve but he wants to shows values of the old days. "I wanted children today to respect there elders and work hard for what they want in life",Donald quoted. During Summer it was all work no play. My grandfather said summer he bailed hay, milked cows and gathered eggs. Another job he did was to pick strawberries for just six cents a quart. When my grandfather wasn't working he enjoyed riding bicycles with friends, fishing at the lake and hunting on the farm. Kids than played outside till the street lights came on but that almost seems like a different world.Respect for elders is a value my family taught me your elders deserves the most respect of anyone.

"My dad wore respect around his waist",Donald quoted. So as you soon get to enjoy the nice Summer weather think about the respect our elders deserve for all the hard work they did as a child until they could no longer. Their work ethnic is like no other and something to we children could learn a lot from.

Blog Post #3

Milking Freeport

In 1942 my grandfather Tom Bardall remembers milking cows being only 6 years old. He had his own designated stool. “We each had 6 cows to milk, 36 cows total. My 5 brothers and my father.” He remembers getting up early every day, and they would go to the barn to get their morning chores done. After getting the cows milked, they would carry the milk from the parlor down to the spring house where they would keep the milk cool, until it could be taken around the surrounding town of Freeport, to supply the small community with milk. They were the supplier and had a milk route that was ran.

“Those were hard times for some people, they traded for what they needed or couldn’t afford.” This was a post depression era when the nation was still recovering from the downfall of the economy. My grandpa said that one particular time: “They had their ration of potatoes to feed their family. They had all of the potatoes set out by the manger where the cows were fed and did not think the cows would hurt them, but when they came back the cows had eaten all of the potatoes. That was a particularly hard struggle for the family.”

My grandpa’s job on the milk route was to collect the money. One thing that really caught my attention when my grandpa told me: “One lady that lived in town did not have very much, but gave me some very antique coins. She told me not dare spend them because they would be worth very much one day.” Against his wishes, he had to turn the money in because that was their milk money and used that to live off of. He wonders how much they would be worth almost 75 years later.

This is extremely important to me and the community because my family served such a large part in the Freeport area. I really enjoyed hearing what he had to say.

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Life Is Short

Life is short

The Quite before the storm, The Fun before the Nearly-Fatal

            “I was 3 inches from becoming roadkill” when I first heard these words I went completely numb. My friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, was your average young adult and one day they went to a party that started fun but almost turned fatal. They told me a story of your average bonfire with friends, food, and fun but it quickly turned bad when someone, who my friend says was drunk, and probably on drugs, and started arguing with someone at the party. After a few words were said, or rather yelled, the individual appeared to have left and things returned to normal. 

That’s when fun became nearly-fatal as the individual came back with a car.

The Nearly Fatal Machine

  

This individual was in the passenger side of the car fighting the driver for control of the car and made a b-line towards the party. Luckily enough everyone at the party managed to get out of the way in time, but then he slammed it into reverse and tried again only to hit a few bumps and eventually into a tree. “It went from peace to utter chaos in the drop of a hat. The other guest of the party ,naturally enraged, started hitting on the car trying to get the guy out “All the guys were slamming on this guy’s car and climbing on top of it some girl was in the back of the car with her feet out the back window Luckily she got one foot in before it hit the tree, her other foot was trapped in between the glass and the tree”. Fortunately for everyone ,but this one girl, there were no other serious injuries happened. After this the word “cops” got thrown around according to my friend and everyone scrambled. Luckily for this girl my friend and their friend helped her, she couldn’t walk due to her injuries, into their car and drove her to the hospital, they were in the forest, so they couldn’t call 911. That day my friend did something many people wouldn’t do he wasn’t a bystander. 

I wanted to retell this story to share what my friend learned the hard way that life is short, so we should live it like it could collapse at any moment. Another reason I wanted to share this story is to say don’t be a bystander, odds are if my friend didn’t intervene that girl would have died that day because everyone else was worried about themselves and didn’t notice her and their was no way she could have drove herself.

Blog Post 3

 The Greatest Love Story

What does it mean to be in love? To go through thick and thin with one person right beside you. To dream of being old together and having those specific milestones? To reach 100 and look to your significant other and be like “I made it.” I look at my grandparents, and I realize that I want a love story like theirs. To be able to see my significant other and realize that I made it after all these years.

 

I sat down with my grandparents and asked them “their love story.” It was one of the purest things I could witness from both. To view and see the love they have for each other as they relive the moments is something I won’t forget. My grandpa wasn’t too keen on dating at the time. My grandpa was 21 at the time and was working at Gradall. While he was there, he had to train my grandma’s brother-in-law Bud. They were as close as can be, and of course, he was always trying to set her up with someone. During Christmas, Bud mentioned to my grandpa that he had to buy my grandma a Christmas gift if he was getting one; my grandma got two baby dolls both in blue. One day, while my grandpa was showing Bud around the factory, he asked if he had a girlfriend. My grandpa replied no, and that’s when Bud would tell my grandpa to go on a date with my grandma.

First Married - October 1956

So, they agreed, and a blind date was set up. On March 17th, 1956, my grandpa went to go pick my grandma up. When my grandpa first got there, my grandma said, “Oh my gosh, I’m going out with my grandpa.” The reason she thought this is because he had flannel and jeans with galoshes on. They went out on a Saturday night to Fairfield Grange. This place is the only place they could go dancing and would square dance in the night. When they first got there, my grandpa sat my grandma down and stayed at the pop station because he oversaw it. After about thirty minutes, someone mentioned to my grandpa that he should go back up and dance with her. From there on the rest is history. The got engaged that June and got married on October 6th, 1956.


Following their marriage, they had five kids and up to eleven grandchildren and many more great-grandchildren. When my grandma first got pregnant, they thought they were only going to have one child. But, when she went into labor, they found out they were pregnant with twins. It came as a shock for both and they were scared, but they embraced it and did the best they could. They had their ups and downs like all couples do, but somehow, they made it work.

50th Wedding Anniversary

Then, it’s fifty years later, and my mom has the idea to have them get “remarried.” My grandma laughed at first but then realized that it would be a great idea. They reincorporated almost everything on their 50th wedding anniversary. They went down to the same church, had the same song, and renewed the same vows. As we watched them retake their vows, you could see the admiration and love they had for each other. My grandma just couldn’t believe they made it to fifty years. “Wow, I said to myself. After fifty years we are still here and getting remarried. You never really understood why you would say these vows until you live them. Until you go to renew them and experience them all over again.” They had the same excitement all over again. 

60th Wedding Anniversary

Ten years later and here we are, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. My mom and I decided that we wanted to do something special to show everyone this love can last. We got everyone together and had a party for them. They gave each other gifts, and again, you can see the love they have for each other. They even got a letter signed by the mayor congratulating them on their 60th anniversary. I asked my grandma how they were able to last this long. She said “You just have to be there with them every step of the way. You can’t go to bed mad. You kiss them and say goodnight. He’s my soulmate and best friend. Wherever he went, I went with him.  He’s my right hand I would always want to walk down the path with him by my side.” 

Not only did this interview allow me to have a glimpse into what it’s like, but it also allowed my grandma to relive every milestone she had. After 62 years of marriage, she still gets choked up when reliving the memories. She knew my grandpa was the one. “There was magic when we first met.” When everyone says that they want a relationship with their grandparents or parents, I finally understand why. The love my grandparents exhibit every day is something I want to experience for myself. Maybe eight years from now they will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.

Blog Post 3: Hicks Hollar

It was almost a hundred years ago during the prohibition when my great great grandparents on my fathers side, William Henry and Jenny Hicks, moved from Tennessee to a small valley on the North East corner of New Philadelphia in a location that used to be the county dump.  There was a very small log cabin that they were able to get with what little money they had...

You may ask why did they travel such a long ways in the 1920's to get to a place like New Phila though?

Well, Henry had been a revenuer in Tennessee, and they would hold court in the one room, dirt floor log cabin that they called home.  They was one particular evening when they were holding court for some moonshiners, and a knife fight broke out.  "One of the men had his throat slashed, and my grandpa (Frank Hicks) at three years old could always remember that man laying on the floor and the blood pouring out of his throat on to the dirt... That was when Jenny told Henry 'Enough is enough- we are taking the family to Ohio.' where her parents lived." said my dad as he recalled the story his grandfather told him.

Jenny's parents home is till sitting there, and is lived in by Ward Hicks and his wife Betty, the son and daughter in law of my great grandfather Frank Hicks.

There home was always filled with children.  Jenny and Henry had thirteen of them.  They were only blessed enough to raise nine due to the other four passing during childbirth or within the first year, and there was twenty-five years difference between the youngest and oldest.  "Grandpa always said up until he was about ten years old he thought a woman just naturally had a baby grow out of her hip, because he could never remember a time when he didn't see a baby on his mom's hip." said my dad.  They had six boys and three girls in the three bedroom home they lived in.

A boys room.  A girls room.  And of course, their room.

A lot of people.  Not a lot of room.

My great grandfather, Frank, being the oldest always worked, and in the ninth grade he quit school.  The family was in real trouble during the long and gruesome days of the Great Depression.  Well, Frank knew the county operated a coal mine on the other side of the hillside the lived on.  He figured that if he dug long enough and deep enough he may hit coal on there side as well.  He went to the dump, and crafted his own flat wheel barrow own out of a wheel rim, a railroad spike, and some fat 2x4's.

Frank dug.

And he dug.

And he dug some more.

A year went by and he finally hit coal.  "It's unimaginable by todays standards to think as a fourteen year old boy he did all that... Grandpa was a tall man- 6ft 2in.  Jet black hair- he was a real handsome man.  Most of that mine was never more than 4-5ft tall, and he used to joke, 'That one seem of coal I once dug was so skinny I used to have to drill a whole in my lunch box just to get my sandwich out.' Meaning it was so short in there he couldn't even open his lunch box."  my dad said with a big smile.

Soon after Frank was out of high school the bank was going to foreclose on the farm.  He was back in the mine one day and heard machinery and people talking through one of the walls.  They then went to the county engineers, and told them they thought the county had cut into their property to get coal. The engineers didn't believe them and told them to go on their way.

So with a compass and a carbide light, these two "uneducated coal miners" went into the county mine after it closed for the night.  Grandpa Courtman, Jenny's dad, would send Frank as far as he could until the carbide light would disappear.  They then would take a compass reading.  They would continue this over and over again until they finally had a map drawn out.  With the map they drew out they believed they had proven the county was digging and stealing coal off their property.

They brought there map to the county again.  This time with enough proof, the county sent out their high end tech at the time with their own crew of surveyors to draw out their own map...  Grandpa Courtman and Frank, being only five feet off, were right.  The county then gave them $1,200 then for the coal they had taken.  They owed $1,000 on the farm, and were then able to pay it off before the bank was planning to kick them out.  "Grandpa always talked about the day they went to pay off the farm.  They stopped at a general store on the way home.  Jenny got brand-new fabric to make all the girls new dress and the boys new britches, and Henry got a sack of candy for each of the kids... It was highlight for him."  My dad said.  For years they plowed the farm with a blind mule, and so they also got hillside plow...  They felt they hit the big time with the coal money.

Frank operated that coal mine for several years.  He didn't have my grandfather, Dennis Hicks, until he was twenty-five years old, and my grandfather even drove a coal truck for him while he was in high school.  "Dad always said that if his dad taught him nothing else, he taught him how much a man could get done in one day.  He said that Frank Hicks was the hardest working man... The hardest working man he had ever seen."  recalled my dad with tears in his eyes.  He mined that coal for a long time, it was back breaking work, and he never denied a bag of coal to a man that needed it.  Up till the day he died he still knew the name of every person that owed him a nickel for a fifty pound bag of coal.

After the coal mining business he started the roofing company, Hicks Industrial Roofing, that is here in New Philadelphia to this day.  It has been passed down three generations now.  The fourth is in training, and fifth has been born and says he wants to be a "Hicks Roofer."

That valley where Jenny and Henry settled almost a hundred years ago not only was a humble beginning, but the beginning of a history our family treasures.  That valley is called Hicks Hollar/ Hicks Avenue now.  Six of the homes in this treasured valley all belong to descendants of Jenny and Henry including my family and I.  Though this little valley is treasured by us Hicks', many of us Hicks' have ventured out like Jenny and Henry did.  Some have gone to London, England and the Philippine's to live and some have made it big in business.  We each carry the inspiration our ancestors gave us, and proudly wear our last name as we come from the blessed Hicks family.


Interview with my dad, Mike Hicks.

Richard 

Richard is a 22 year old that lives in Tuscawras county in Ohio. His life was plenty normal. Married parents and two sisters. But it was also very different. 

Richard grew up unaware of something that made growing up a little harder. 

He found out he had autism at age 21 the same time his son was diagnosed before then he had been misdiagnosed bipolar. 

He said "it was a challenge growing up, it was hard to make 

friends and hard to communicate with others in general. I wasn't in the right classes I should have been in in school." Richard went to a school for bad or troubled students because he acted up because he wasn't in the proper environments. 

"My home situation wasn't much better, it wasn't the environment someone on the spectrum should be in." 

  

Often times he went to the Bolivar Dam to escape all the commotion and hardships he was facing and all the things he didn't understand. He found the sound of the rushing water to be calming.  

Growing up his family wasn't very close, his older sister had been going through a lot of things and him and his younger sister didn't get much attention and got away with more things then they should have. His family is now very close and talk to each other every day. He feels better and happier now that his family has grown together and became closer. 

Richard doesn't have much of an opinion on the community aspect of growing up. He said that he felt that he wasn't apart of his community. 

He said that people scared him and hid a lot. He had sensory issues that caused him to have panic attacks in public and would have to leave before he was suppose to. 

This video explains a lot of what it feels like for someone for with Autism and sensory processing disorder. It's not perfect but it is one of the most accurate ones. As someone who also has autism and sensory processing disorder I would have to agree. We found this video on YouTube on The National Autistic Awareness page. 

Richard now feels like he is more apart of the community and is doing much better being a member of society and is more comfortable being apart of it. 

Blog #3

My Grandfather

This is my grandfather Randy Lawton. He is 62 years old and has lived in Newcomerstown, Ohio all his life. He owned a heating and cooling company and has built many houses in this town. He was an avid carpenter as his houses were very well designed and my family currently lives in one of the houses he built, which he also dug a pond behind the house that I live in.

He built 3 identical houses side by side on Beagle Club Road, which he started to build the first house by hand in 1994. He said, “I am very proud of the houses that I built and all my past work, it has provided my family a place to live and made myself a living as well.’’

When he started to build the house I live in now, I used to hang around with him while he was building it. He hooked up a small television because there was electricity running to the house and made me a chair out of a cardboard box. I had a blast.

He is currently working on his fourth house, he is building it for himself and his family and is planning on retiring after the house is complete. He has done a ton of work in his time and has helped many people. We are all so proud of him.

Happiness is Actually Very Simple

MaryAnn is my regular customer, she has visited my restaurant at least once a week for the past few years. Sometimes, she is with friends and sometimes, she is alone. Since a few years ago, she has come less often than before because of some health issues. She has cancer and receives continuous chemotherapy. The medication caused the skin of her hands to turn blue and purple, but despite this, she always wore beautiful red nail polish. Every time I saw her, she was dressed up beautifully, even when she was in a wheelchair. She always smiles kindly and you simply can not tell she is a cancer patient. She always with positive energy and I really like her optimism about life.

 One day, I had a chance to sit with her when she was alone, and we had a long conversation where I get to know her better. MaryAnn was born in 1935. She got married right after she graduated high school. After she married, she had produced five children. She never had a job and stayed home with her children. Her daily routine is cleaning up the house and preparing the food for the family. She always cooked incredible dinners for her husband while he was busy with more important things. She also took full responsibly in the education of her children, because her husband was busy working to support the family.

  MaryAnn has never driven in her life. When she was in high school, her girlfriend took her out on a Saturday night, and they almost got hit by a truck.  Since then, she dared not drive anymore, which made her never independent from her husband. Her husband passed away twenty years ago. Her children take turns taking care of her. She has a few good life-long friends, her friends used to take her out to shopping, dining, and to bingo.  Since they are all past the age of eight, they barely hang out together. A few years ago, MaryAnn sold her house and moved to a nursing home. She is happy to stay in the nursing home because she had her own suite, and they take care her daily. When she plans go anywhere, they drive her.

I asked her if there is anything that she regrets in her life. She laughed and said that she had before, but not anymore. She said, “When you come to be my age, you will understand health and happiness are the most important things. I will enjoy every moment I have.” I learned what she cares about most is to live her own life.

I respect her very much, especially her optimism. Our life can not be always being smooth, there are always various kinds of pressure and difficulties. We should learn to face life with an optimistic attitude. All difficulties can be overcome, and we must cherish our lives anyway.  I love a quote from Omar Khayyam, “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/omar_khayyam

https://www.brainyquote.com/photos_tr/en/o/omarkhayyam/378553/omarkhayyam1-2x.jpg

Always Have Hope

Picture of my grandma & my mom when
 my mom was in her coma

I believe everything always happens for a reason and not everything is as bad as it seems. My mother Regina McMorris would tell you exactly the same. She was born in Coshocton County on February 19th, 1969. When she was 17 years old, she was in a terrible motorcycle accident.

When my mom was growing up, she did not have a normal childhood. She was raised in a broken home. My grandpa and grandma always fought and they liked their liquor as well. They were very poor and did not have much. Since my mom's parents split up, she mainly lived with her mom. My grandma was constantly moving around and struggling to find work. My mom went to so many different schools when she was growing up. Being the new kid once would be hard but imagine being that new kid multiple times. She moved to so many different schools one year she ended up failing that year.

  Her motorcycle accident had happened in the summer of her junior year, 1987. She went down to Illinois with her boyfriend to see some of the family. Well one night before she had to come home, my mom and her boyfriend at the time wanted to go out and have some fun. They were drinking and decided to go on a motorcycle ride. They were riding when all of a sudden, he lost control of the bike. My mom went flying off the back, into the air, and landing on her head.

She was first taken to a Lincoln Hospital, then transferred to a Springfield hospital. When they realized how severe her injuries were, she was then was life-flighted to a Trauma Center in Illinois. She was there six weeks when she was in her coma. The first three weeks she was in a deep coma. Regina added "They told my mother that I would be a vegetable the rest of my life." She came out of the deep coma into a semi coma. Once she came out of that, she had to learn how to do everything all over again. How to talk, write, eat, walk, dress, brush her teeth, etc. She still had the majority of her memory, some things before the accident are still a blur though. She missed her whole junior year of high school, but she went back to school the following year. She graduated in 1989 in Canal Fulton,Ohio.

Picture of my dad in the back, my mom in the middle ,
and, my sister on the right and I on left.

Today she lives in Coshocton County, has been married for 27 years, has a nice home, and 2 children of her own. She also works full time at a nursing home. If you would see her today, you would have no idea that she was in such a terrible accident. She overcame all the hard obstacles she had while growing up and during her recovery. She never gave up hope. Regina stated "Even though today might be a bad day, you never know what tomorrow is going to bring".

Blog 3: Natalie Lax

                                    My Mother, Natalie Lax

My mom and dad shortly after she moved to Dover


My mom, Natalie Lax (Goodman was her maiden name) grew up in the bustling city of Akron, Ohio up until she was 15 years old, when my Grandma Jackie decided to move here to the much quieter city of Dover in order to live in a more family friendly place. According to my mother, the sudden move made her very angry with my Grandma and she even begged her Akron friends parents to let her move in with them. To my mom who was only a teen at the time, a city like Dover simply meant that her "life was over". She enjoyed the fast-paced life she had in Akron and the never ending activities she could choose from. She at first viewed Dover to be a desolate place where nothing ever happened, but then she met my dad who quickly became her light at the end of the tunnel.

My dad started trying to woo my mom within days of seeing her for the first time in his Medieval Studies class in Dover High School in 1991. My mom even now describes my dad  as being "very persistent" during the beginning stages of their dating. My dad had quite the crush on her immediately and did not want my mother to move back to Akron, so he made every effort possible to show her that Dover, Ohio could be a cool place just like Akron. My mom has shared many memories of my dad showing her around the town and showing her the local treasures. Her favorite places he used to take her include Mary Zifer's pizza, Tuscora park, and Quaker Cinema.

Clearly my dad did something right because my mom eventually fell in love with him as well as this town, and they have stayed happily married right here for over a decade. She has expressed that she is thankful that my dad converted her from the city life to the suburb life, she enjoys the calmness and closeness of our community here very much. I think stories like my mothers matter because it shows that even if you did not grow up in a city like Dover, you can still learn to love the things about a small town. You can come to appreciate small town qualities such as community traditions (Dover vs. Phila football rivalry) and you can appreciate the fact that everyone knows eachother. Overall there are countless things you can love about this small community, and my mother's story is proof that truly anyone can grow to love living here.

Eddie Maple: Secretariat's Jockey

One of the jockeys that rode Secretariat lived in Carroll County. Eddie Maple is a very famous jockey and got inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Eddie Maple won his first race when he was 17 years old. He began his career in Ohio and West Virginia and moved on to New Jersey before establishing himself in New York in 1971.

Eddie Maple won the Belmont Stakes twice, rode to three upset victories of Forego on different horses and piloted Secretariat to victory in the last race of that champion’s career. In statistics since 1976, he had 217 graded stakes winners and 363 wins in all stakes. He led jockey standings for meetings at Saratoga and Aqueduct.Maple rode many horses for Woody Stephens, including Horse of the Year Conquistador Cielo, on whom he scored in one of the three Metropolitan Handicaps the rider won. Eddie was riding Secretariat for his victory in the 1973 Canadian International

In addition to multiple victories in the Belmont, Suburban, and Met Mile, Maple won the Saranac Handicap seven times, the Hempstead (now the Ogden Phipps) and the Saratoga Special five times each, the Dwyer, Carter and Remsen four times each and the Futurity, Super Derby, Breeders’ Futurity, Manhattan and Delaware Handicap three times each.

Maple was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award for 1995 and the Mike Venezia Memorial Award in 1998. Eddie Maple was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2009.

This is very important to me because we came from the same small town and he Eddie made a name for himself. It makes me think that I can do big things like him even though we came from a small town.