Two Different Lives

 


I felt like I was living in two different worlds: my Warren Easton school life and then my after school and weekend life, not feeling completely all in one or the other. I enjoyed getting to know this new group of friends at school, good people like Wally Scott, Chris Pumilia, Sammy Toups, David Crain, Tommy Ezell, Ann Audler, Missy Dearing, Gladys Ortiz, Steve Longa, Janice Reimmuth, Angie Fontan, Oscar D’Souza, and so many others. 


As I had been either suspended and/or expelled from my schools each year since sixth grade, I did my very best to make it through my senior year without a suspension. Unfortunately, with about five days left until the end of school, I decided to skip my 6th period Math class and head home early. As I was walking to my car, about two blocks from campus, I noticed the Warren Easton school bus driving carrying the track team and Coach Ken Martin, the track coach, who also happened to be the school’s disciplinarian. Coach Martin looked out the bus window right at me and made the “I see you” hand to eyes sign. He called me into his office the next morning to suspend me. I asked Mr. Edwards to join me and speak on my behalf, which he agreed to do. I begged him not to suspend me because I was afraid I might get my admission to Alabama rescinded. Coach Martin was a hard ass, but Mr. Edwards intervened on my behalf. They decided to suspend me, but I had to still come to school. Coach Martin agreed to not put it on my school records. It really bummed me out that I couldn’t make it through my last year without getting suspended. 


I decided to skip my on-stage high school graduation, since I knew my parents weren’t going to attend, and I wanted to work at Bruno’s.


Throughout the rest of the semester and all through that summer, I remember running into a Deke from LSU (Zeta Zeta) named Tracy Ridgeway who kept telling me, over and over again, “Jeff, you need to learn to be humble. Please find a way to be humble.” Tracy’s advice ended up being more profound than I was able to comprehend at the time.


You’ll have to wait for a future book to hear more about my experiences with drinking and the girls at the University of Alabama, how I came to start my first newspaper called The Uptown Alligator, my move to Washington, D.C. and finally, how I got to New York City.


In the meantime, you can expect my next two books to appear in 2023. My fifth book is called “My Higher Power: Growing Up Catholic” which comes out in the Summer, 2023, and my sixth book “New Orleans Cemeteries: A Celebration of Life” which is set to publish in the Fall, 2023.


© 2022 Jeffrey Pipes Guice

My Wonder Years: A Book

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