Embrace The Great
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Embrace The Great
Legends of Wilson: Lessons in Leadership, Legacy, and Lifelong Impact
In this powerful homecoming edition of Embrace the Great Podcast, hosts Shawn and Dominique sit down with two true Wilson High School legends — Dr. Allie E. Brooks, longtime principal and community pillar, and Coach Darrell Page, 2007 state champion and Hall of Fame inductee. Together, they reflect on decades of leadership, mentorship, and transformation — from navigating segregation and shaping young minds to building championship teams and generational character. With heartfelt stories, humor, and timeless wisdom, Dr. Brooks and Coach Page share the values that molded Wilson’s legacy: discipline, education, faith, and family.
Welcome to another installment of Embrace the Great Podcast with your host Sean Ellaby and my boy Dominique Muldrow. Yep, yep. What's going on with your dello? Ain't nothing much, man. Today we have a special, special show, man, with two legends, in my opinion. And you know, we always trying to embrace the great. So um we want to introduce to y'all two of uh Wilson legends, in my opinion. Again, um, Dr. Ellie Brooks and Coach Darrell Page. Thank y'all for coming on. Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01:Living legends. Thank you for having us.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you for inviting us.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, man. We definitely in the spirit of uh homecoming at Wilson High School, man, we definitely appreciate you guys coming on. I know I spoke with both of y'all uh last week and then again last night. And um I was excited, man, just like uh Christmas Eve. Always always love uh having conversations with you guys, man. Learned a lot. Um just to our audience, man, just to introduce you guys. Um, first of all, I'll start with uh Dr. LE Brooks. Um graduate of uh DSCSU in 1968. Um served as principal at Wilson High School from 1974 to 2005. Am I correct? You're correct. All right, something I didn't know. Assistant principal at West Farmers High School from 1971 to 1974, um, president of the South Carolina Association of Secondary School Principals, uh Principal of the Year 86, 87, and then 2000, uh a host of uh of accolades. Um we definitely like to welcome you, uh Dr. Brooks, excuse me.
SPEAKER_03:I'm calling me Mr. Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'm not I'm not on title now. Uh oh I know it, man. It's good to see you.
SPEAKER_01:But definitely, definitely here to have you on. Look like you can still get a few rebounds. You remember that? Never let me forget that at all. Well, definitely, man. And I also want to introduce my guy, man. I I talked to talk to him at least once, twice a week, man. Coach Page. Um, just some of your accolades, man. Of course, you coached at Wilson from 93 to 2012, and then returned as interim in 2024. Uh 2007 State Champ. Uh overall record 127 and 90. Um, I think I was a part of a few of those wins. Uh, multiple region coach of the years. I also coach tracked at Wilson High School. I'm thinking, I think a lot of people don't point that out about you, coach. Um, and also inducted into the 2024 South Carolina Football Coaches Hall of Fame, much deserved. So we welcome you, Coach Paige.
SPEAKER_08:Um, I'm just glad to be here, especially seeing you guys as host now and uh watching the podcast and uh the positivity that you're putting out in the community really um can't be anything but proud.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, sir. Yes, sir, man. Uh look good to be in you guys' presence, man. I I I feel the knowledge and the wisdom so far, man. I'm gonna Sean, what what kind of questions you got first about for me?
SPEAKER_06:We got a few questions, man, and kind of kind of walk through like early childhood, early kind of your your beginnings. Um, one of the questions I have is what was your childhood like growing up in your hometown and what ultimately led you to education? I know both of you guys are educators.
SPEAKER_08:Okay, um, I was uh born and raised in Bennettsville, South Carolina. Uh in night I was born in 1963. And uh parent of my both of my parents, my mom and my dad, were both educators. I grew up uh at the end of, I would guess you would say, I was born into segregation, but grew up in an era where African Americans came in the back of the store. I went to I started school, I was at a segregated school until the third grade. Uh Marlboro County didn't segregate until 1971. I was in the third grade. So I was brought up in an era where I got a taste of it, and um it's helped, and there's no doubt it's molded a lot of my experiences. So um I was born there uh and uh started teaching there uh originally at McCall High School in 1986, uh small 1A school, probably about 300 students, 20 people on the faculty. And uh I was content to be there. And uh fate called me to Orangeburg Wilkinson High School, and I went there in 1987. I'm going from a school of 300 uh kids to a school of almost 1,800 kids. And uh it uh gave me, I guess, the servant attitude because all of a sudden I was a young assistant on a Big 16 um in a Big 16 program, so I got an opportunity to learn a lot. Same thing, Dr. Brooks.
SPEAKER_03:Excuse me. Yes, thank you. Uh Florence is my hometown. Um was born on Baringer Street, uh Church Church Street at the corner of Pine Street and um excuse me. Pine Street and Barringer Street uh walked uh from um that there to Ravenel Street where the older uh uh students uh back in the day would take care of the younger students and watching walk in the school. Uh like Coach Bay said, I uh segregated situation. Um there was a school, elementary school three blocks from my house, but we had to walk to Holmes Elementary School, going up in Ravenell Street, walking up um Palmetto Street to Jefford Street, across um Palmetto Street, uh over to the corner of uh Chevis and Jeffers Street where we went to elementary school until the um eighth grade. Um went to um um Wilson uh junior high school on Athens Street at that time and then moved to uh Wilson Senior High School, 1200 North Urby Street, uh graduated in 1964, went to South Carolina State, uh 64 to 68, uh majored in mathematics, uh minored in education. Also, uh what many students didn't realize is that um uh as a principal, I was uh I was a veteran. Uh I got a commission as a second lieutenant uh in the United States Army from South Carolina State, uh, where state really is one of the colleges in the nation that uh has commissioned more African American officers than perhaps any other school. So I had planned to make the military career. Um I was stationed in the in the demilitarized zone of of Korea from January of 1968 uh to February of 1970, 13 months. Um I I graduated uh in August 4th, got married August 11th, uh, went to Oklahoma from September to December uh and uh career from January uh 68 to 70. I had planned to make it a career, um, but my wife didn't like military life. So having the last word in my house, I said, yes, ma'am, I got out and um got out and became uh math teacher at Moore uh at time junior high school. That was on Traw Drive, that's where um Royal is now. Uh was there for one year, and then the superintendent uh at that time asked if I uh would be interested in being an assistant principal at West Florence, and I said yes. Was there for three years and then um in 1974 I had the opportunity to become principal at Wilson High School and I jumped at it because I got tired of people talking negatively about my alma mater, all alma mater, and I went to prove that excellence exists in a predominantly African-American environment. And so that was my ministry, that was my mission, uh, to mold our students and get them to see that uh where we are in the majority in terms of numbers, that we don't need to act like people expect us to act. Um have a dignified uh uh environment, a disciplined environment. And I had the pleasure of of hiring Coach Page uh after we lost um our coach. Never regretted it. And so uh having you students here and seeing y'all doing well, uh, it is a blessing to me uh because that's what educators uh look for, having their their students become successful.
SPEAKER_01:All right, and and that's something that I I did want to ask. Um first of all, you mentioned uh how you had to navigate through uh Jeff Street and all that. That reminded me of a story you used to tell uh that you drove a Chevrolet where you had to shove your left foot and lay your right or something like that. You listened to the story of the school drove. Oh, yeah. But um just something that you you did just mention about uh hiring Coach Page, I did want to ask. Um, you know, Coach Page just mentioned he's from he's from Bennett'sville. What, because Coach Page tells that story to us a lot, and it's crazy I remember he said Mr. Brooks took a chance on a 29-year-old, or something like that. He liked to tell. So what did you see in Coach Page that make him the right fit to, you know, turn the program around or help turn the school around, as you said you had to do when you when you came?
SPEAKER_03:Well, we looked at uh applicants, and you wouldn't believe uh the people that apply for a head coaching position. You got some people that uh worked at Walmart, uh felt that they could come and coach the football. We still do that to this day, but yeah. You're right, you're right. And so we looked at over 30 candidates and uh narrowed it down uh to uh two or three. I think it was three. And uh in the interview with Coach Page, um he uh like he said, he worked in Oursburg. And um you look at different um the records of of uh applicants, not necessarily in terms of wins and losses, but you're looking at um like our work, our school watchwords, knowledge, skills, and character. And um one of the things I wanted uh was a young man to come and help mold our young men uh into being uh uh young men that are uh of of good character and understand what being a man is about. And so uh during the interview, uh he passed in flying colors. And um uh Coach Page and I, uh Coach Long at that time, uh, who was the uh athlete direct Scooby Long, uh, he and I decided uh that we would recommend uh Coach Page and uh we never re regretted. And like you say, um uh I think y'all in y'all young years now, because uh you know that you got a lot of naysayers. Oh yeah, oh yeah. And um if you work at Wilson High School, you know what naysayers are all about to a certain extent. Uh but you turn a deaf ear to that. You have to do what's best for students. Yep. And that was my uh that forte all along. Um you have people who think they know how to do your job better than you. And so uh never regretted uh hiring Coach Page and and never regretted coming to Wilson High School because uh uh I wanted to accept the challenge of uh people seeing in Living Color uh uh what they perceived as lemons, lemonade being made out of it.
SPEAKER_01:Uh I just gonna ask uh real quick, Coach, what did you remember most about you know your first interaction with with Mr. Bruce and just what you thought of of just Wilson at the time uh you know during your interview and all that?
SPEAKER_08:Funny thing, uh former Wilson assistant uh was my head coach at uh Orangeburg Wilkerson High School, Tommy Brown. He worked under Coach English when Coach English was the coach here. And uh I talked to him about the job because I felt like the job may have been coming open. And uh it was my time I felt like all right, I'm ready to take over a program. And uh my initial uh I applied and uh my initial um interview was I I'll never forget it. Um I remember getting in my car, leaving Orangeburg, coming to Florence. I think I had a gas car to maybe$10 in my pocket. And I said, Well Lord, your will's gonna be done. And uh at the time, I think um Ms. Slack was the um personnel person at the time. And um Gerald Hawley was uh over secondary education, Mr. Brooks and uh Coach Long, and we interviewed, and uh I felt like I I did a good job. And when they called me back for the second interview, I was I knew I was coming to Wilson because uh a couple of the guys that um that also were in the finals, I'd worked with them before, and I knew I was any anywhere around I was coming to Wilson as either the assistant coach or the head coach. Gotcha. And uh when uh I got the call and uh I accepted the job. I remember meeting with Mr. Brooks after uh we had our uh initial um kind of press conference down in what's what we used to call the guys' conference room. Yeah. And uh Mr. Brooks walked me back to his office and I'll never forget it. We sat down and he told me, um, he said, Coach, it'll take you three years to clean this up. And he was prophetic. When I say prophetic, uh that was 1993. Yeah, 1996 we won the region for the first time. So uh I knew I was in the right place at the right time with the right principal because he was patient. Right. And um it takes a lot for people to um I was just sharing with uh our producer. Um our first three years, we won nine games and uh lost 24. And I was under the impression, I was like, wow, I was I need to go. This man is still beside me. And uh I was ready to resign. I was gonna tell, I said, Mr. Brooks, you need might need to find somebody else. And just when you throw up your hands and get out of the way, God in the seas. Yeah, and uh we got I guess uh a program defining when we went over to Heartsville. Heartsville, yeah. They were one of the best, and they were one of the best in the state at the time. And uh got got in there and won that game, and you could tell we had finally you could see that corner. Yeah, we had turned that corner and we'd gotten the one that we needed.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, yep, yep, that's dope.
SPEAKER_06:Um talking about that, Coach Paige, what has been in and let me go back, because I I say it all the time, and I probably said it to you before, but I'm I'm really, really excited that the number of fathers that you helped make from those football teams, and I say that some of the teammates, some of the people that played before us, um, and the number of men you helped create. So when I I want to ask this question, what has been your most rewarding experience at Wilson High School?
SPEAKER_08:Uh I can count so many. Um I think the first time that I knew this place was special was that same year um the program was on the uprise and we played Darlington over at uh the stadium. And I mean, I'd never seen that many people at Sports Memorial Stadium. And uh they were ranked maybe top five in the state at the time. They had a great Joe had a great team. And uh our kids kind of took it on the took it as a pride thing, and we played as hard as any team that I've ever put on the field. And we ended up winning the game uh 14 to 12. And it's uh funny you when you mentioned that, Sean. Um today one of the um former players came out to get some DVDs, some old DVDs. And uh I was going all around school trying to find an external drive so I could watch it, and it just so happens that that was one of the games I watched. And uh, you know, it was really I like this. I I was a ball boy over that team. And uh that um and maybe uh, and there's no doubt seeing two of my children graduate from Wilson High School. Yeah, that was really, really special because I go in people's houses and I see all those purple diplomas. I was like, all right, I want a purple diploma. Yeah, seeing both of my children graduate from Wilson High School, but by the time same, same in the same vein, uh the year uh when we won the state championship in football and basketball. Yeah, seven years and Mr. Brooks was on the field with me. I the only thing I regret that he was not the principal, yeah. When when we won it.
unknown:Yeah, yep, yep.
SPEAKER_01:Those those those were special times. Just looking back, you know, listening to the stories and things like that, man. Definitely special time.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, yeah, that was a culmination, man. Just being at those games in general, like the alumni was were there in numbers, and we celebrated like we were on the field and and on the court, because again, that's that's the Wilson legacy that we carry on. Um, same question to you, Dr. Brooks. What has been your most memorable uh moment at Wilson? I know you got a long list to go through, so you know if you can think about some highlights of being a principal at Wilson High School.
SPEAKER_03:Well, you're right. Um 31 years uh being principal, uh it was just um a pleasure every year. And um I guess the um the highlight for me, one I said one of the highlights was the fact that um we had um in the in the district among the middle and high schools, you had um the academic team and you had uh the mathematics team. And uh in the early years, uh Williams and Wilson teams were the laughing stock of the of the other two high schools. And so, you know, in 1996, um we uh got the uh international baccalaureate program. And at that one of the reasons why we got that program was because of the fact that in 1974 we had gone from uh demographics of 55% African American, 45% white, to 78% African American, 22% white. And so the Justice Department stepped in and said, you know, we you uh the district had to do something. And so a part of that was getting the International Backup Laureate program at Williams and Wilson. That brought uh students who normally would not come to Wilson, to Wilson, because they were attracted to that uh program, the academic program, which is perhaps the strongest academic program in high schools nationwide and worldwide. Well, the academic uh team's success turned around dramatically at Williams and at Wilson. And we had students who came from West Florence uh and from the south side of town to those programs, and when students in the program thought it was too hard, and I'm talking about students who don't look like us, decided that they wanted to stay at Wilson. That was a shock to people on the other side of the tracks. And they wanted to know, well, what in the world is going on with that?
SPEAKER_06:What's the recipe?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and not only that, we had faculty members who wanted to transfer from uh other schools uh to Wilson. As a matter of fact, all of the curriculum coordinators in uh English language arts, math, science, and social studies, all of them wanted to come to Wilson. And so uh this is something that a whole lot of people don't know about. But to me, that was a turning point for me as a principal because I always wanted to be principal of a school that was multicultural. And we we at that time we were 68% African American, uh 31% white, and 1% Asian, uh no, 8% Asian. And uh that from that point on Wilson dominated the academic competition, the math competition at uh Francis Marion. And so uh one of the things that uh I always said uh we had some of our members of the community who criticized having the international baccalaureate program, but they didn't realize that one of the one of the successes, even on the football program, was having uh players that were Asian, white, and black. And they uh one of the uh best teams we've ever had. Uh matter of fact, the kicker of one of the best teams that Coach Spade had is now the owner of the uh Chick-fil-A, yeah. Uh at the uh Magnolia Mall. So, you know, these this turned heads. But uh my thing was that was an opportunity for people to not listen to uh the noise from people who don't want to respect persons of color and realize that they can get a good education at Wilson High School as well as any place else. Great education. So that was that was for me, that was most gratifying. And then of course, seeing y'all be successful was um uh you know that we we had athletics, but we also had academics. That's right. And um, and we also had one of the best band directors in the nation. Yes. And so, you know, we just had a lot of dynamics students and we had uh an atmosphere that was a family atmosphere. You know, we know we we had we still had to deal with with racist attitudes, but we didn't let that deter us. Right. We kept doing what we needed to do, and uh for me, that was a gratifying moment.
SPEAKER_06:Oh man, so you you go back to there, right? Because you talk about 96, 97, that's when we started at Williams. Right. So we were part of the first graduating class at the IB program, 2001. And I thought about my classmate Ben Ingram, was a big reason why the academic team did great, because he won the Tournament of Champions at Jeopardy, I think a few times. So um it's just one of those when you sit here and see it from the being living it, you know, hearing you talk about it, but actually living it and seeing the the the end results of what happened, and I I laugh because um seventh grade, I got approached by um Mr. Jackson, a few teachers, and everybody else wanting to get me in the IB program. I told my mama no. Same. I I said, Mama, no. She's like, Why? I said, those kids look sad. They walk around no big book bags. I don't want to read in the summer, I don't want to do any of that. And I said, I can take the same classes with them, make the same grades, and I'll be all right. And I can, I ain't gonna say coach, but I can coach. I don't have to be, you know, I didn't challenge myself back then, but um got to befriend a lot of those people in the IB program because I went to Reach with them. A lot of my large majority of the REACH students were IB students, so I felt a lot blessed at Wilson because I started off at North Vista, transferred to Tim Rod. So I knew those two dynamics when I got to Williams and the IB program came, all my Reach friends came from there. So it was like, okay, I know a lot of this going on. But going back to the story, you say academics and um athletics. I don't know if you remember this, but my mother, um, when it was time for student marshal, you you call, you know, to let juniors know they're gonna be a student marshal, right? And you call and speak to Ladarius Ellerby. My mother's like, he's not here. Well, I just want to let you know, you know, he's been elected as a student marshal. Um, by any way, is he any kin to Sean? My mama starts laughing like that is Sean. And he's like, all the time I watched him play basketball, I never knew he was like this in the classroom, and it was a different relationship from then on.
SPEAKER_01:And that that's big. Like you said, Sean, I I got asked in eighth grade, and I, you know, declined in so many words. But the good thing was, uh, however many years later, my son accepted the challenge of being in the IB program. So that's that's definitely big, man. That program um definitely changed a lot of lives. And and as a student looking at it, it's like, like Sean said, man, those kids, uh, we they got to do work in the summer, this, that, and the other, and all that. But it's definitely a staple at Wilson High School. Um, just to talk about a little bit, um, back to both of you guys' upbringing, um, you know, a lot of people hear you guys talk, and I know amongst my friends, when y'all two talk, we listen. All right. So I want to know who were those guys for for y'all coming up, like who were the influences in the community um, you know, that kind of brought you along and and and developed some of your characteristics to this day.
SPEAKER_08:Well, um, one of the guys that uh had an influence on me in Bennettesville, uh, as a matter of fact, he still lives there. His name was Robert Johnson. He was the basketball coach at Bennettsville High School for a long time. And he was one of those guys who would just bring people in. Uh he was the bus supervisor, and I actually drove bus. That's when students actually drove the school bus, if you can believe that. Yeah, I remember my dad tell me about that. And uh I also took a psychology class under him. He was one of the best teachers I ever had as far as bringing students of different uh, like Mr. Brooks said, different backgrounds together. We had a uh uh, I guess definitely a mix of students there. And uh he was one of the guys that uh had an influence on me. Um another um Florence guy, uh people didn't even realize, and it took me a minute to kind of for it to dawn on me, uh uh Mordecai Johnson. I've heard it now. His wife and my mother were best friends. Okay. So I knew him as Uncle Mordecai. Okay. And um coming over seeing, because that you're talking about in the 60s, there weren't not many black lawyers in this area. And seeing him be successful because he had a thriving practice, he was well known, uh, carried himself, you know, just there's something in an air about him. Right, right, right. And so he was one of the guys growing up, those two guys definitely had an influence on me. And uh hopefully um I learned something from them to carry on to the give out to the next generation. That's dope.
SPEAKER_00:So what about you, Mr. Bruce?
SPEAKER_03:Well, um the first uh I would say the first uh teacher that really had an impact uh on me was my seventh grade teacher, Mr. Theodore Lester, who happened to be the first African American um to serve on the Florence District One school board. Uh he also was a football official uh at home um while he served at home school, but he uh made it his business to get in his Chrysler on Sunday afternoon and drive the neighborhoods to see what we were doing. And um, but he took it upon himself to load up uh all of the male students in his class and take them, took us downtown to the bank and open up a savings account.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that's that that's dope.
SPEAKER_03:That's big. Yeah. It's very big because definitely back then, yeah. Yeah, and I wish I had done it because I probably wouldn't would be better off today if I had kept it. But he he took us down there and and and and opened us, uh, let us open up a savings account there at that time as Guarantee Bank, uh, which later became uh as truest now. Okay. Uh but uh he was influenced. Also, uh on the female side, um I had um a teacher, uh, English teacher, and I had a chorus teacher um that uh took an interest in in me. Um and uh she uh motivated me to uh uh go to South Carolina State. And um, you know, it people don't realize every child needs a mentor. Um every child, I don't care how What type home setting you come from? Our young people need to be guided in the right direction. And those are two people, uh uh uh two of several people that really had a positive influence on my life. Right, all right.
SPEAKER_06:Okay, um, you talk about the next generation. What message would you give to the next generation, our current generation? Because I know, you know, I I heard you talk about somebody asked, would you go back to Wilson? Like, no, it's too much to clean up. I heard you say that out loud. So what would what message would you give the current generation now? Of the leaders as as well as young people.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I I would I would I would go back to Wilson, but I don't think Wilson wants me to come back there. Um I uh and and I say that because you you know we didn't put up with no foolishness. And uh oh my God.
SPEAKER_01:I just got a flashback you said, excuse me, but go ahead. Sound like the announcement.
SPEAKER_03:Well, one of the main reasons I did the state of the school address is because I wanted every year to talk to you. Because I y'all are my children. I love every one of you, no matter who or what, uh, whether whether I got love back or not, that doesn't matter to me. If as far as today is concerned, I think what we need to do is have more of our parents be parents instead of their child's buddy. There's a big difference. Say so. We talk about it all the time. But yeah. I mean, that uh uh we need to realize what time it is. There's no time. Uh you know, I love sports, but you're not you got to be focused on more than thinking that the way of success for you and your family is helping your child get a scholarship. Because you got to have you you got to have the knowledge first. That's right. And but more than that, coming from the home, there needs to be more discipline. Nothing is going to be successful in any phase of life if you're undisciplined. And we have too many parents that are afraid of their children today. Um and I say that because I've I've seen it. I when I was a principal, I'll never forget there was a stud a young lady, a female student, came to school wearing a shirt that said, Sex is like snow. You don't know how many inches you're gonna get, and you don't know how long it's gonna last. And so I called the mother and asked her to come to the school. And I said, Ma'am, your daughter cannot wear that shirt. And she and when in the office, she said, I told you, Mr. Brooks, I'm gonna let you wear that shirt.
SPEAKER_06:And make you the authority and not her.
SPEAKER_03:I'm the I'm the heavy. Instead of the parent doing what he or she needs to do. And there is a serious, there are a lot of I guess angry young men today because they don't know their daddy. They don't know their fathers. And they see things in the home that really angers them. Uh and parents, uh, mothers are doing a successful and strong job in raising young men. But there isn't a substitute for a strong man being in children's lives. And so today, you know, what I'm saying today, you know, education has been our salvation as a people. And that has not changed. And today, more than ever, we need to have people step up and understand that the streets are not the answer. And and and and and guns are not the answer in terms of uh resolving conflict. I get tired of every day you got to hear in the PD area one of our young men or young ladies getting shot. And then, you know, I told I teased y'all about me not being invited to the parties. But here, the other night, you had at a club after homecoming, 700 people in a club, two and three o'clock in the morning. Now, who let you be up two or three o'clock in the morning? I mean, when I was in y'all's age, 11 o'clock I was in home. I was in the bed. Okay. But my parents knew where I was. Um, I was in active in school, and parents got to take charge of their children today when they don't have it. And those that do have it, uh, we need to support one another. And the churches got to get more involved in the raising of our young people. You don't have to have a big sanctuary, you don't have to have an outstanding um uh fellowship hall. Just get them there, uh feed them, you know, chicken balls, uh, hot dogs, uh spaghetti, something cheap. But get them there, get their attention first, because it's like the salvation uh army, uh the three S's, soup, soap, and then save. You got to get what they need first, then they can listen, and you have to earn their trust. You know, we have to be men and women of integrity. What we they need they don't need to see. Well, one thing about young folk, even back in y'all day, y'all knew a hypocrite when you saw. You knew. I mean, nobody could fool y'all. I mean, and then so that's a long answer, but there's so much that we need to do. And that's why my wife and I mentor right now. We're mentoring. And we mentored 28 students from kindergarten to high school, and four of them graduated last year. Um, three from South Florence and one from Wilson in the IB program. We that we mentored ever since kindergarten. And so there is a need for our organizations to uh to take up the manter and guide our young people, our young ladies, and our young ladies need to understand you don't have to um pull your dress up to impress no man. You you be yourself, you be a person of integrity. Don't drop your standards for nobody. That's right. And young men respect women. We must respect our young ladies and treat them like young ladies. I'm sorry, I took the. Oh, no, that you you said it my foot.
SPEAKER_01:A lot of those things needed to be said. So so definitely um uh uh a lot of those things that uh, you know, I I I apply to my life as well. Coach Paige, you wanted to chime in on that question.
SPEAKER_08:Um when you look at listen to a lot of the things Mr. Brooks says, because I'm still in the classroom and uh I see it every day. Uh parents, I guess uh it's a new generation of parents. But uh your job is to if your child's 14, 15, 16 years old, I don't I'm I'll be 62 uh on Sunday. Okay. I don't have any 17-year-old friends. That's right. I don't have any 17-year-old friends. And when they're when my students are in my classroom for the 90 minutes there, I'm the parent. I'm the parent. I'm the this is I'm telling you this is what we're going to do. And uh I've very seldom have students kind of bite back as far as that's concerned. But um, there has to be a voice of authority. Okay, and uh if you're 17 years old, you're just starting in life. Okay. You have not had the experiences that your parents have had, your uh grandparents have had, your teachers have had, and they're sharing that knowledge with you. Now, if you don't want if you don't take that and you don't listen and apply it, sooner or later, you'll be you'll you'll be in a reflective mode and saying, somebody told me this a long time ago. Yep. And uh I hear that a lot from former players who uh might tell me said, I didn't understand it then, but I understand it now. That's the same thing with uh former students because so much is social media based. I keep up with a lot of my students or former students because of social media. Yeah. And uh, you know, as like I said, this is my 40th year in education, uh, over half of it I spent at Wilson High School. So now I see students whose parents that I taught. Right. And that's uh I think I got two in in uh my class now that I taught their parents. Okay. And uh that's you know, that's special, but you can see, as Mr. Brooks said, consistent parenting. Consistent parenting. Uh and that's not to not want your child to grow and experience parents, yeah, that kind of thing. But I've got the final say as the parent. That's right. And uh you can see that in the way the kids are in school. And it's sad to say, as Mr. Brooks uh emphasized earlier, you see 17-year-olds trying to raise themselves. And that's sad. That's sad because you can make a mistake and it could have affect you years and years down the road. And uh like uh Dr. Brooks uh emphasized, you go out and you reach a kid. You don't touch with one kid, but if each of us in this room touches one kid, we've uh touched base with maybe six or seven kids. And hopefully you made a difference.
SPEAKER_01:Amen. Yep, that's that's that's definitely big, man. Just looking back on some of the things you just said, um, you know, I remember when we were playing, and I'm gonna give a shout-out. I remember we had a guy, I think this was my junior year, um, my guy Dennis Gordon. He uh I think somebody asked him, because uh I think these days, coach, it'd have been some problems with the length of time we used to practice. But at the same time, um to that point, I remember Dennis saying, man, we need to be out here, man, because some of us will be in jail if we ain't out here at practice that uh all this time or doing or uh had a few babies. I remember him saying that. So so that's definitely uh things that I think just with the way society is now, man, because you know I'm I'm a coach myself. So it's some things that I hear Coach Paige saying to me at 17 that I can't say to a 17-year-old now because of, like you said, the way certain parents are now and that sort of thing. So um I I'm definitely learning and and have in the back of my mind a lot of those things I I used to hear from it from you guys.
SPEAKER_03:So but they should. I mean, the truth and the truth is the truth. There you go. You ask yourself the question, okay. Now, what what am I saying to your child that you disagree with? Yep. Yep, I definitely agree. What am I saying that's gonna hurt now?
SPEAKER_06:Yep. Yep, yes, I'm um going to another question, man. It's kind of leading to something else. Um, what led you to choose your spouse? And and I'm using this to help some of the younger men to know what to look for in a woman, because like you say, we got to respect women, but what what made you choose your spouse and some of the things to look out for for these young men to look at who they want to carry their life on with? Okay, you get the first word this time, you know, the last word. Okay. All right.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I'll tell you that that's an excellent question. And um I'm gonna tell you that um I hadn't made up in my mind that I wasn't gonna get married. I did. I mean, I said I had enough of the ladies. I didn't know how to rap. Uh I didn't hold out, I just didn't know how to adapt. I didn't know how to beep up, walk, you know, all the things. And you know, the sad thing about it is that uh at Wilson, I went there last year, year before last, and talked to the ninth graders one morning, and I was telling them uh the young men, it was all young men, uh uh what they need to do for young ladies. And they said to me, uh, Mr. Brooks, they don't want that now. They they want a thug. They want they want to they want somebody that's been in jail. But as far as who had attracted me to my my wife of 57 years, uh we went to the same church together before we started dating. We started dating uh her senior year and my junior year at Wilson. Okay, so you got somebody older. Yes. Yes, yes. And uh she uh her daddy was one of the first African-American policemen in Florence. Okay, Reverend Dr. Solomon Edy. Yeah. Uh needless to say, he had a gun. But uh what attracted me uh to my wife um was the fact that um she uh and I pretty much uh were loners in terms of we we weren't with a crowd, uh uh we weren't popular. Uh but she uh carried herself uh in such a uh a manner uh that uh I appreciate it and uh and respect it. And you know, I always tell students that I uh have the opportunity to talk to each time I do, uh, did I want to have sex with her before marriage? Yeah. Did she say yeah? No. So uh I um we we dated five years uh before we got married. And um she uh um and I had a relationship uh that was uh mutually respectful. I knew her parents. Um my parents knew her parents. And um I guess the the big thing was we uh when we had disagreements, uh we stuck it out. Um we didn't have this uh you kill my cat, I'll kill your dog mentality. You you stay you stay out at one o'clock, I'll come in at two o'clock. You know, none of that's gonna work. And a marriage is give and take, but before uh you get married, uh there is this need uh to ask some hard questions of one another, to be honest with one another. And uh and so uh when I finally decided that that young lady changed my mind about not getting married, I um uh I appreciated that and I never regretted that uh to this day.
SPEAKER_08:Well, um uh following that, that's kind of tough. I tell you my story. Um I um was attending uh new, I was a member of New Mount Zion Baptist Church when I was working in Orangeburg. And uh I was actually uh my mother-in-law spotted me and uh said, Well, there's a guy there at your church you you know you need to meet. Okay. And uh I was doing pretty good, according to my wife, until um I think I wore a sport coat to church, and my mother-in-law was like, Well, I don't know about that how he dresses, but we ended up meeting. Um she was working at a um formal shop there in Orangeburg, and I had to go to a formal with my fraternity, and that was the first time I actually met her. Yeah. And uh we exchanged numbers and uh as Mr. Brooks said, we began to talk. Communication is so important when you go in to pick a mate. That's right. And you have to, as Mr. Brooks said, ask honest and sometimes tough questions. It's just like uh we did we're talking long term here. So we've got to be when it's just the two of us, we gotta be open and honest with each other. Yeah. And uh that five-year um number must ring hard because my wife and I dated five years before we got married. And uh we've been uh married going on 30 years. And uh coming to Florence, I'd already been the head coach here for uh maybe two years, two maybe three years when we got married. And uh this is the first place she'd ever lived other than Orangeburg. She was born in Orangeburg, raised in Orangeburg, went to college in Orangeburg, started working professionally in Orangeburg. And uh this is the first place we, you know, she had lived besides Orangeburg. And I was the only person that she knew here, yeah, outside of the family. So that made us even closer. Right. And uh we uh went through this thing. Our first year, we got married in 1996, and my wife was finishing her master's at South Carolina State. And so she would work in Orangeburg during the week and come home on Friday. So we were on always on it, it was a honeymoon for the first year. Uh our second year was actually our first year where we actually live together every day. Okay. And uh that's one thing you find out about yourself. When you start living with somebody, you find out a lot about you and a lot about them. Yeah. And uh there's a lot of give and take in marriage. And if you're a selfish person, and I think we were talking about it uh Sean when we came in. Uh I was talking to somebody about it today. If you're really into somebody who uses a lot of personal pronouns, I, yeah, and my, yeah. If you use them all the time, it's I, me, and my, you're not ready to get married. Yeah. You need to be thinking we and us. That's correct. And um, you know, it's part of being a team, your team.
SPEAKER_01:Well, definitely, man, those definitely big, you know, uh to the young fellas. You you listen, if if she make you wait five, you good. She likes it. That means she likes it. All right. But in the spirit of homecoming, man, I I definitely want to want to ask some questions just for our listeners to get some nostalgic moments from you guys, man. Because like I said, both of you have been major components I know of my life and a lot of people's lives, man. So um, first thing I want to ask you, Coach Page, um, and I and you can name non-athletes and athletes, um, and start with non-athletes. Who are some of your most memorable people or students that you taught at throughout your tenure at Wilson?
SPEAKER_08:Wow, there are quite a few of them.
SPEAKER_01:Um you got some characters.
SPEAKER_08:Yes. Um, and one of them was Mr. Brooks mentioned earlier Blake Pate. Yeah Blake who owns uh Chick-fil-A here in town. Uh, Ms. Atkinson, I think everybody here remembers Ms. Atkinson. And she's a good friend of mine, and she said, Well, coach, you need a kicker. She said, Daryl, you need a kicker. And said, Well, Blake kicks, and uh Blake came out and uh joined the team, IB. So Blake's academics, his his schedule was totally different. So we would have to schedule practice where he was yeah, the special teams was very early into the practice session. Yeah. So he and he'd leave, and the guys look at him, man, he's leaving. But uh on Friday night, kick it between them, kick it between the mutts, and he did. Uh he's uh one of the um young men that uh I can think of. Also, um, and uh he was our kicker when we won the state championship, Robbie Bonanno. Okay. Robbie is another IB product. Uh, and now he's Dr. Robbie Bonanno. He's got a practice there in Columbia, and I uh I reach out, uh his mom is a uh Facebook friend, and Robbie is a Facebook friend. So I kind of keep up with him. Uh is married and got children. Those are two of the kids that I can think of right offhand, uh, that I had uh out in football. But I've had a number of students that um just I mean they were special. Right. One of them, uh Amy Justice. Amy uh moved here from I think Alabama. Father was a longtime minister here. He recently passed within the past year. Uh and she, and when I said she embraced the Wilson experience, she did. Okay. She thoroughly enjoyed Wilson High School. Those are all those students were white students. But uh the number of black students um that I mean. Yeah, you go to I could I could go.
SPEAKER_01:Because you got you got professional players that you coach, uh course the Durant, Lawrence Timmins, those guys, man. I know, I know they of course stand out to to everybody. No doubt.
SPEAKER_08:But I I tell you one that um as a matter of fact, I saw him last week. Uh he was on one of my very early teams, uh uh Robert Frost. Oh, that's Robert Frost. He owned the barbershop here, Frost barbershop. Shout out to Frost, man.
SPEAKER_07:It's a true barbershop.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah. Uh and he has cut my hair for years, uh, but I go there for the camaraderie for the uh comedy, just the experience. And you go get it with him. Yeah, every time. And every time I go in that shop, uh I see a Wilson student. Yeah, a former Wilson student, whether he was an athlete or not. And that just uh speaks to the family atmosphere that uh Wilson has. And that's right. I worked in other high schools, but there is no other high school where that type of dynamic is special. Uh my four years I spent at Lower Richlow were like that. You could tell they have that same type, same type vibe, but it's not quite Wilson. Gotcha. So um just some students.
SPEAKER_03:Didn't Lon Poom down there?
SPEAKER_08:No, he was he was uh under Coach English.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. He was under Coach English. Okay. Uh what about you, uh Mr. Brooks? I know you uh other than the athletes, um you know, we've had uh singers, uh Trey Smith, I think he went where State's name, Trey Lorenz. Right, yeah. Um you know, um I'm not sure if your tenure was. Wait a minute, let me let me do my math here. Jolette Law. Pearl Moore.
SPEAKER_03:Pearl's last year. Okay, okay. Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So so just talk about, you know, give give some of maybe your former students or athletes or whatever. I know you got a roller decks to go through. So you know I like to give people shout-outs.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Right. Well, uh, the two of you are a part of that. Okay, okay. Two of you are a part of that. You know, the thing about it is when y'all see me and y'all start laughing, I know what y'all laughing about. Y'all thinking about back in the day. I say, well, you're not in the hall now. I'm not saying anything. But um, I I I would say uh like Coach Page, um the one of the first students um that I remember uh quite well was a student who was the only white student that rode the basketball bus under Coach Scott. Uh and he's now the uh sports uh information director at Francis Marin as Michael Hawkins. Okay, yeah, yeah. Uh Michael Hawkins. He he did his homework by flashlight on the bus. He kept the stats for basketball. Um, and one of the keeping the stats was uh remind uh the stat about my the basketball rebound room. Your record, yeah. Right. Yeah, still holding record at Wilson. That's that, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And uh but he enjoyed at uh at Wilson, and he was one of the first students to get the Allie E. Brooks Award uh at awards night. Okay. And so today, every time he sees me, he comes up, hugs me, he and his wife, you know, and uh and uh he he he stood out academically, uh stood out in terms of character, everything. Um another was um back in the day with basketball with Julette one year. Uh uh the uh under um I think it was um Meg Scarborough, she had three players. One was Joulette and there were two others. I mean they had a bond uh there and and there were we lost um the um uh championship at Francis Marion against um um uh one of our former coaches uh Ann Long. Ann Long, okay, her team. Uh and Jolette fouled out in the third quarter. I mean, but another young lady uh came in. Um her name escapes me now. She left-handed. Uh but she came in, we only lost that game by one point. Uh but uh uh she was outstanding. Also in the band, we had the state susaphone player of the of the state uh in the state for more than eight years. Uh Brian Mack uh was the first, and then uh a young man who uh whose father uh worked in the solicitor's office uh downtown. His son uh uh was held the honor for four consecutive years. Mr. Harvey had outstanding musicians. I mean, we were ridiculed when we didn't have uniforms, but nobody could outplay us. The man knew his music to this day, and to this day, and and we had uh uh um band members who just excelled uh uh wherever they went. And so uh I was uh proud of the fact that we had those outstanding band members and then uh Ben Ingram, yeah, classmates, class 2001. Yep, Ben Ingram was outstanding uh in terms of uh with the academic team. I mean, uh the night that he lost was a bo uh was a night we had the um school board meeting uh and and and he did not uh um he did not win. But to show his character, he would be blowing people out on Jeopardy. But instead of maximizing the amount of money he would make, he was just enough to win.
SPEAKER_06:Just enough to win. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Uh$300. Yeah, you know, I mean that says a lot. Character. Yes, yep. And and that's so much about you guys and for all of our students, you know, that when they as Coach Page alluded to a little while ago, some of y'all thought that we were the meanest per people in the world, but we bless God that you live long enough to know the difference. To know the difference, yep. That's it. And so those are those are just a couple of them. That's like I said, there's so many who have gone on to become college professors as well as professional athletes, but just working at um Burger King or McDonald's, you know, they see you there. They know give me a little hookup. You know. You're not even looking for it.
SPEAKER_01:So I I definitely want to uh point out some of those. Now I'm gonna be I'm gonna be honest with you now. I got some phrases and things that uh I remember from you guys. But the thing is, I I can't say too many of the coach pages. But some of them that still carry with me, man. Um one day. Mr. Brooks always used to say, you don't have to be loud to be seen. That was a big one. Always having a positive attitude. And one of the things that really you taught me, really the meaning of having pride. Like, you're at school. If you see paper on the floor, pick it up. This is your school. Even as 16, 17-year-olds, we don't say, we don't ask other sports, do y'all have a game tonight? You say, do we have a game tonight? So those are some of the things that I carry and I still try to uh instill in my players. That's true. And the biggest thing I want to ask, where did the where did the D, where did that chant come from? Is that just something you you came up with? I'll tell you where it came from.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. And I'm glad you asked. I brought my aid with me tonight. Oh, yes, sir. I was going out to cover it. Yes, sir. Time to go to class. It had two purposes. That's right. Time to go to class, because one thing, the bell didn't ring loud enough. So stood in the commons area. And when it rang, then I rang this. But at athletic events, particularly football, uh, I found out that you couldn't ring it inside at the basketball game. Because I did one year. I rang it. And uh it's against high school league rules. So the official called a timeout and came over to me and said, Mr. Brooks, I said, Yes, sir. Somebody in here ringing a bell. I said, Yeah. I said, I wonder who's doing that. He said, Well, you know that they need to stop that. I said, I tell you what, I will get that person and I will make sure that they don't ring that bell anymore. Matter of fact, I put it in my pocket. All the time was mine. But during during during football season, during baseball season, during uh band competition, this I I could not they could not hear me. I was I was saying D for defense, right? But out of that, D E E was the turn the D stood for determination. The next E the E stand for extraordinary effort, and the last E stood for excellence. That's what I hollered D for. But also, this bell is uh 51 years old. I was wondering if you still had it, okay. 51 years old. You can look at it and see it. It got a little bit this this uh finish is worn on. That's right. And you don't know how many people tried to take this bell from me. Matter of fact, when we went over to Marion one year, they had a sign up, no bell ringing, and they actually sent a law enforcement officer who happened to be a Wilson graduate to tell me that if I rang the bell, they're gonna put me out of the stadium. And so Miss uh Miss Barr, you know on the secondary. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In the bar, she just laughed a whole game because I wouldn't ring the bell, but I would be saying ding a ling-al-ling. But I uh to make a long story short, I did this because this was to let y'all know that I'm present and I'm support and I'm supporting you. Yes, sir. And I and I wanted y'all to know that. And it made a difference. Uh and and so even today, uh, a lot of people don't know the history of it. And they say, What are you doing ringing the bell? I said, it's not for you. There you go. But it's for the tigers. They understand it. Yes, sir. They know what it's about. The coaches know what it's about. I said, and that's all that matters. I said, so y'all want to criticize? Go ahead. But the the people who it matters the most to they know what it is.
SPEAKER_01:Now, Coach Paige, like I said, you had a few, so I'm gonna I'm gonna give the PG version of. Um the biggest, the biggest one though, man, you you taught us, I ain't gonna say just me, taught us about not quitting. Um, I remember plenty of times, man, we doing up downs, we got first quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter, overtime, double overtime. And you see, you look around and see some teammates kind of getting weak. And the big thing you used to tell us at 16, 17, what you gonna do when you get tired and your kid needs something in the refrigerator? Or you gonna say, hey, I can't do it, I'm tired, or are you gonna do what you need to do to get what you know, things like that, man. Um, and that still rings to this day to me. Um one big one I I I tell my kids now, my my players and my kids, and I'll put it in quotes, it's uh in the heat of battle, forget the man in front of you. Forget him because you are you, you do your thing. Uh carry yourself as if you're better than anybody on that football field. And and that was that's big for me. Even if you know physically you may not be, have that mentality. You know what I mean? So that those are definitely some big ones that um that always stood out to me, man, and that I carry with me and I try to pass on down to my kids.
SPEAKER_08:That's uh one of the things that you just mentioned. Uh and Mr. Brooks had a mold in me because I was a young coach. Right, right. My first time being a head coach. And the idea of excellence, uh, the idea that we all look alike, that we dress alike, that we carry ourselves alike. Right. And uh when I first got into it and we started being successful, officials would look at us like, okay, get the new kids on the block. Right. And my thing was just because everybody on here looks like me, don't expect anything less. Anything less. And uh I remember um I think that one episode uh 1999 we were playing Greenwood in the uh upper state championship. And uh there was a car that was right near almost in front of me on the sideline. And uh I told an official, I said, look here, we can play too. Yes, sir. I said, I know you ain't seen no team like us, but we can play too. We didn't get here by accident. And uh from then on, I felt like the game was called fair. I said, don't cheat my kids now. Don't cheat my kids. And uh that's just the excellence uh that was that ranged throughout Wilson because and I was just sitting here thinking, over, I think it was over a four-year stretch, I won the state championship in football, basketball, baseball, and baseball, and baseball, and the idea of Wilson baseball. Yeah, I heard of. Unheard of. Yeah. And uh, you know, that's a uh shout out to uh Coach Coach Coach Hudson, a Wilson alumni, one of our favorite. Yeah, you know, I and I Mr. Brooks was mentioning um uh Coach Reed and I didn't know her as Coach Scarborough, okay, uh championship level, Ann Long championship level, Tommy Johnson championship level, yeah, Leanne Talbot championship level, Rodney Barr, Bob Wilson. So we had some outstanding coaches, and uh in at least I know in the athletic department, we were we were close, yeah, close. We would attend each other's games and very supportive. That's the Wilson, that's the Wilson family.
SPEAKER_01:And at my and during my time at Wilson, you know, I was a part of the uh 2022 coaching staff, basketball that won in championship. That's something that we tried to bring back. Me and my guy Carlos Power, we tried to bring that back, man, that feeling, just looking up and seeing purple and gold and seeing your teachers and your counterparts instilling the same thing in the kids that you are at practice, just an extension of what you're doing, man. I remember I tell a lot of people, you were the first, as far as uh how coach uh Deion Sanders, Coach Prime, you know, everybody talks about what he wears on the sideline. You remember that same season, 99, it was a big thing because you always used to wear your hat backwards during the game and all that. And people, you know, that was you know kind of unheard of back then. Um, and and how you used to have us ready. You used to have us ready to talk the same noise, like you know, when we gonna coming out to run through the banner, you would just stand in front of us like, yes, my boy's ready. Yes, yes, we here. Yeah, what what you gonna do? I got yeah, so so that that's that's a big testament to you, man. I I gotta uh you got anything else, Sean? Um we're getting past these guys' bedtime. Nah, I don't got anything. My bedtime. I'm about to go straight up. Well, I got a segment that I like to do, man. It's called Pick Six. Um, some rapid fire questions, um, two two part that um I want to talk through. Um, I'll go with sort of the ones that tell you a little bit about yourself first. Um, and it should be interesting. Uh, first one for both you guys. What's the make and motto of your first car?
SPEAKER_03:Plymouth Plymouth Fury, yellow. With a black with a with a black top.
SPEAKER_08:My first car was a 68 uh Chevy Nova. It was a pass down to my brother, man. It was it was painted uh uh some kind of blue he picked out. That was the first car I ever had.
SPEAKER_03:How about every Chevy Nova I know is blue? But I need to back that up. That first car yeah, it was a Chevrolet. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Chevy Chevio Left Foot later right. All right. Uh your favorite concert you ever attended?
SPEAKER_03:Our favorite concert was the first um when uh Mr. Harvey brought his um alma mater band from Virginia State uh to Wilson uh at 1200 North Herbert Street. And uh that piqued my interest in classical music. They played Beethoven's uh unfinished symphony, which is unfinished because they're only yeah normally on symphony is three movements, but this was two movements. And that really turned me on to to classical music. That I that that stands out today.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_08:What about you, Cole? Uh Luther Vandros, Greensboro Coliseum. Okay, tickets on the uh I I knew you had to take somebody with the city. Tickets on tickets on the fourth row. And I mean, you know, if you go to concerts and big venues, it depends on where you sit. Right, right. And on the fourth row, you could see, I mean, you see him, you see the dancers, you see the choreograp choreography. Uh, and Luther was it was a show because he would change the set and all this kind of thing. He'd come out in different outfits, this kind of thing. And the thing that I guess everything that we've heard from Luther Andros, you could turn the you could take the band away. And this guy can sing. Yeah, he can sing. He can sing. And you know, you're like, wow, you know, I and I'm this close to him, you know, as far as hearing him and just appreciate the music. But that was one. So that was Big Luther. Yeah, that was big Lutheran.
SPEAKER_07:That was Big Luther.
SPEAKER_00:All right, what's your uh go-to meal? My go-to meal? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:My go-to meal is uh beans and franks.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, okay. Got the poker beans, and the red can. The red can be. No.
SPEAKER_03:Um the uh bush. Okay, okay. See that. I cite I psyched myself uh by getting the bush vegetarian and then I doctor it up. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_08:All right, what about you, Coach? Uh the uh Italian staple spaghetti. And you know, when I say that, I definitely black people spaghetti, because we're gonna put something in it. You got it, yeah. And uh that's a go-to, that's a winner. Um if I eat it every day, I you know, something like uh that maybe two or three times a week. I could do that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, I gotcha. All right. What was your favorite song in high school?
SPEAKER_03:Our favorite song in high school was uh I'm a Motown guy. Okay, and uh I liked um uh the uh the temptations singing uh Don't Look Bad. Okay.
SPEAKER_08:What you got, Coach? Uh anything about Earth, Wind and Fire. Okay. Anything about it because I grew up with them. You know, they were just coming into vogue and I was going to school in the 70s. I graduated high school in 81. So I grew up with Earth, Wind and Fire, and I remember um Shining Star. Yeah, the first Earth, Wind and Fire song they really kind of got that. Yeah, yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01:I like that one. Yeah. Uh, what's your most memorable, memorable vacation?
SPEAKER_03:Disney World. I go to um, I love uh it's a small, small world. I like I like to get in that boat, yeah, put my hand in the water and see how much coins I could pick up, but uh I thought you were gonna say I never could get any.
SPEAKER_06:I thought you were gonna say Vegas when you went with us. Oh no.
SPEAKER_03:That's another story.
SPEAKER_08:We know what you got for and uh it as a matter of fact, it is Las Vegas. First time um going out to Las Vegas, and you know, you see pictures of it or see it on TV or whatever, but to actually experience it, and um the city legitimately it never sleeps at all. Never sleeps. But the thing is, um uh my wife and I had a chance to travel outside the city. You drive five miles outside of the city, you're in the middle of the desert. So we went to go see the dam, right? Yeah, hoover down. We went to Hoover Dam while we were.
SPEAKER_03:And I'm gonna tell you that now you're talking about hot dogs, you're not living until you have one of them damn dogs. Yeah, yeah. And so my wife said my wife thought I was cursing, but I said, No.
SPEAKER_01:That's what they call it.
SPEAKER_03:It's D A M dog.
SPEAKER_01:I remember I remember Dan Henrik kept saying that when we were there. All right, and last uh one as far as uh this this portion. Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
SPEAKER_03:My favorite athlete growing up was Jackie Robinson.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, yeah, I I kind of figured that was was gonna be it for you.
SPEAKER_08:Uh Kareem Abdul Jabal. Yes, uh, this guy. I was a fan uh from UCLA to the Milwaukee Bucks to the Lakers, and I'm still uh a diehard Lakers guy to this day.
SPEAKER_07:Gotcha, gotcha.
SPEAKER_01:All right, then that's the first part of pick six. Uh last one is gonna be a rapid fire, either or. All right, uh beach or pool? Neither one. You don't mess with the water, huh? No.
SPEAKER_03:But I but I I'll I'll I'll take the beach and I'll walk, I'll walk on the on the sand. I'll I'll put my feet in the water. All right, pool.
SPEAKER_01:All right, Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles.
SPEAKER_03:I'll take um Stevie Wonder. Okay.
SPEAKER_08:I'll take Ray Charles from seeing uh Jamie Foxx do the became a fan.
SPEAKER_03:Pancakes or waffles? Pancake. Cook it every more every Saturday. Okay. I'll cook it.
SPEAKER_06:You could come every Saturday.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Pancakes. You gotta I I'm gonna ask that later. Because I know what the side is. Alright, no AC or no heat.
SPEAKER_03:No heat. I mean, which one you prefer?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, which one? If you had to do without no AC or do without no heat.
SPEAKER_03:No heat.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. And dress for the cold. There you go. I'm the same way. Uh no AC. Yeah. Like the cold. Yeah. All right. So I let me go. Would you rather watch movies or series? Movies.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Movies. All right. And final one uh for this segment. Would you rather watch the Super Bowl or game seven of the NBA finals?
SPEAKER_03:Uh Super Bowl.
SPEAKER_01:Super Bowl. Yeah, I knew that announcement. All right. Well, that's my pick six, man. Definitely appreciate you guys. Um just before we go, man, like I said, homecoming is up. You see the flags flying. You you already smell the grills being warmed up. Walmart shelves are going out of stock, that sort of thing, Mr. Brooks. Um, and I read, I know you got the column in the uh Florence newspaper. Is it every every every Wednesday? Okay, once a month. Um, I know you talked about, I read it a few years ago. Um, just kind of give uh your landscape of homecoming like today. Um, just did you ever envision it getting this big, that sort of thing? Just kind of give your your your perception of it, of Wilson High School homecoming today.
SPEAKER_03:Well, it's it's like no other uh high school, and and really not no other, a lot of colleges. Um the size of it has grown tremendously uh since the the 90s. We have grown from uh moved from the front campus on uh 1411 Old Marion Highway. Uh and uh we had some people thought that uh we were trying to take over, but we had to move it for safety reasons because cars were parked horizontally, vertically, vertically, diagonally. Yes I mean uh and and it was just dangerous. Yeah. And so uh now we've moved to the stadium, and uh you got more people uh or as many people who are not Wilsonians who come to our homecoming than the our um uh our graduates and and attendees. But uh I am so pleased with the family atmosphere that we have, and I'm my prayer is that we have a safe homecoming this year because of the foolishness that is going on elsewhere. Elsewhere. That is correct. Because whatever negative things happen, it's gonna impact Wilson High School.
SPEAKER_06:And be magnified because it's Wilson High School. That is correct.
SPEAKER_03:And so we need our we as as parents, as graduates, uh, as grandparents, uh, we need to talk to our our our our younger children and talk to uh people who say they are coming to our homecoming. That we want it to be a family affair. That's right. We want everybody to be safe. We want everybody to be enjoyable, enjoyed. When you come to the tiger fest, if you if you don't leave there full, then it's because it's your own choice. Because nobody's nobody's charging you anything. Uh uh my um baloney sandwiches, uh, I'm already placed to order. I got 400. Uh and uh a quarter quarter inch thick. Uh gonna get it black on both sides. The real loany. Yes, it. I mean, see, when you go to the grocery store, they they serve bologna. Yeah. But uh Tiger Fest, the uh Mr. Brooks is gonna serve lohnies. Come on now. Come on now. And we're gonna have mayonnaise and mustard, you know. And uh and and I just get a uh a joy out of it. But I I want us to uh teach our children what it is uh to come to a Wilson homecoming and understand that it is about family, it is about a tradition, it is about our alma mater. That's right. Uh to do the right with all our might through every changing hour. We're lifting happy voices, praises unfold, hail of purple, and then go. Let song of gladness rise to the sky for dear old Wilson and strive to show as own we go ability and power to do the right with all through every change with love and before we'll work and do our best as all we go.
SPEAKER_04:Come on now, to do the right preach.
SPEAKER_01:That's a way to go out. We gotta close it out. We definitely appreciate the audience, man. Definitely looking forward to to the weekend of events. Um, I know personally, man, I appreciate these legends just taking the time to come through and extending their bedtime and and and coming to rap a taste with us. Um, so I appreciate you guys again.
SPEAKER_06:Oh man, same here. Echoing the same thing, man. Two people I looked up to who got to see it on the high school level. You know what I'm saying? A lot of times, you know, as students, we don't see black males in education. Um, and we're blessed at Wilson to have a plethora and two of the greatest right here, man. So again, it's just heartfelt, sincere thank you first and foremost, and again, thank you for being you and inspiring the ones behind you. Thank you. Even when you don't do it. Thank you.