I didn't grow up with the goal of being a Clemson man.

Jul 30, 2018, 10:04 AM

I was an unfortunate son, raise by nomads who moved me nearly a dozen times while I was growing up. My dad was a sixth grade educated truck driver. He and mom had two dates when they were 16. It must have been their first date because on their second date they decided to make the long journey from Roane Co. TN to Georgia and get married. They doubled with mom's younger mother who was 13 and another 16 year old boy that evening and two marriage ceremonies were performed back to back.

I was born about 13 months after those ceremonies so it must have taken a while back then to figure out the details of mammal reproduction. I had my first year of school in my parents' home town, Rockwood. It was there in a small one room school house dedicated to first graders. The 2nd and 3rd grades houses were there in the row too. Before I finished the second grade we moved to Georgia...by the time I got out of high school the 1st, 2nd and 12th grades were the only years I spent in one place and they all happened there in Rockwood.

After marrying I moved to Chatt and worked at CE manufacturing boilers, nuclear reactors and components. When CE shutdown in the late 70s I moved to Greenville, SC. A year later we moved to Easley where I woke up one morning realizing that I had forgotten something but didn't know what it was or where I'd left it. It took a couple years to figure out that I'd forgotten to finish being educated so I immediately began looking to solve the problem.

I happened to be living 10 miles from Clemson then. Having been out of highschool for over a decade Clemson laughed at my application. My ACT test was "Out of date," the young lady said, so I went to G'ville Tech for two quarters. For the youth here that was about 2/3rds of two semesters. I carried a 3.8 or something so Clemson sucked me up like somebody flipped the switch on vacuum cleaner. Three days after I hand delivered the application I received the acceptance letter in the mail.

For the TL;DR, Readers Digest crowd...My path was long with many twist and turns which sometimes folded back on itself but in the deepest and most sacred place in my heart I know Clemson was in God's plan for my life. It wasn't UT because of any shadow cast by Neyland or UGA, or Bama, or FSU, or Miami, or any of the other universities I lived near while I was growing up.

God knew where I belonged and he gave me a closeup of all that's out there so I'd appreciate Him for picking out the best. Through trial and tribulation and with Divine patients this sojourner was brought home.

For Real TL;DR, Clemson was my destiny!

BTW, mom and dad were married until dad's death in 1971.

Note TO Mods, move this at your own risk for it it a testimony to God's Divine Love for Clemson, me and you.

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I didn't grow up with the goal of being a Clemson man.

Re: I didn't grow up with the goal of being a Clemson man.

Best post on here in a long, long time 88. Thanks for

TigerBoard POTD