"the sub that hacks"

Being the college graduate that I am, I've been thrown from putting all my expenditures on my parents tab, and have been forced to generate some cash flow of my own. Knowing that I would be reaching this point, I started substitute teaching a few months ago. That's "temping" for you School of Rock fans (one day I actually temped for an elementary school music class...). Though I have subbed for children of all ages (save junior high), I seem to have found my home at Bryan High School.

My first day ever on Bryan High's campus I was plenty early, and as I was passing between the two campuses, a small circle of students caught my eye. They were taking part in one of my favorite past times: hacky sacking. Some of you may recall my being on the cover of the Battallion back in college when the photographer caught me hacky-ing it up between classes. That headline read "Eye on the Sack" which remains in the Batt's top ten worst headlines of all time - but I digress.

I approached the hacking students and their leader said, "You wanna hack?" as if to challenge me.

I meekly accepted and the next thing those students knew, they were watching the magic of hacky sack unfold before their very eyes. There were stalls, sidekicks, jesters, the whole bit. As I ran out of tricks (unbeknownst to the students) I kicked the hacky sack to one of them, who soon lost control of it and watched it lay on the concrete.

I politely withdrew from the circle and closed with, "When you guys learn to hack, let me know and I'll come play with y'all."

Very similar incidents unfolded with the two other hacky sack circles at Bryan High within my first two weeks there. Now when I walk in between the two campuses, without fail I hear a student say, "Look, there's that sub that hacks."

Say all that to say, thank you Carol Cune, BHS Principal (pictured above) for allowing me the opportunity to impact your students' lives. It is truly my pleasure.