HR Newsletters 2020

Re—Release Dr. Andrea Mayfield

At 5, my trusty bicycle took me on some really fun adventures until a neighbor saw me crossing a bridge as I rode out of town. I didn’t have my bicycle for a while. Walking home from the bus stop, I made a habit of admiring the wildlife. I put snakes in my lunch box and quite regularly would throw rocks at a mass swarm of bees hanging from the tree limb and then run. I suppose I thought I could run faster than the bees could fly. Growing up playing football with neighborhood boys after school in the grass lot close to my home, I decided it was time for my career in football to begin. In the 8 th grade I went out for spring training for the football team. I stayed after school to practice and lift weights…until my mother found out. Every time I thought about running away from home…my idyllic life that I didn’t know I had…my big plan was to pack some things and go live in the woods behind the house. I spent a lot of time in the woods and loved the quiet solitude I found there. Today I feel most “at home” in the deep woods…day or night. I attended Marion Military Institute for my high school years. As a Ranger, I had oppor- tunities to engage in the fun I relished. Operation exercises in the swamp and hiding in a bea- ver den to evade the opposition to win the game was a thrill. I took opportunities to pick up “trophies” to leave in the shower of the barracks. Let’s just say, my roommate was not thrilled. That summer, I had an opportunity to canoe the boundary waters. Spending two weeks in the remote wilderness living on lake water and MREs was a blast. The highlight came when we failed to hang the fish oil in the tree before going to bed. I woke to someone outside the tent grabbing my leg. After repeatedly telling whoever was doing it to “STOP”, I left the tent and discovered a bear. I grabbed a heavy branch and whopped the bear on the butt. It ran into the woods behind the tent. I followed to see what the bear was “doing”. That bear was sprawled out on his belly licking pudding that SOMEONE on this team dumped out. I thought the bear looked so cute I wanted to pet him. Let’s just say that didn’t happen. In college, the university always had a spring concert. This particular year, Bad Compa- ny came to perform. I volunteered to be a part of the “roadie” crew. During the concert, I was charged with posting on top of a scaffold 40 feet up with lights and a headset. My job was to take direction and spotlight the performers on stage by cue. It was one of the hardest jobs. I thought it was cool to eat dinner with the band and introduce my baby brother to his rock star idol. Because this article is not supposed to be lengthy, I am skipping 98% of my adventures. Continued -

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