90s21 Stories

My storytelling opportunities continued to grow in Iowa City. I told stories in my building and got invited to do storytelling in other buildings. I started doing the Time for Children at church at least once a month. I got invited to tell stories to community groups and at the public library.

I told stories in several other school districts and other community events outside of Iowa City. I told stories at Young Writers’ conferences and did sessions for teachers at conferences and inservices. It was always a break from the seriousness of the world and, often I think, I got more out of it than the listeners.

My journal became the planning place for storytelling events. I planned the series of stories and poems I would use. I used it to write down my own stories and poems that I wanted to use. So it became the stories of my life, stories I wanted to tell and stories I want to tell.

Going back and reading the journals is like discovering something you had forgotten. I think, maybe journals should be read more often. Until I started writing these stories when I finished a journal I put it on the shelf and rarely looked at it again. The nuggets of thought were frozen and only thaw out when they are read and pondered again.

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On August 9, 1994, Hayden Fry, then head coach of the Hawkeye football team called me. We had been searching for a physical education teacher for my building and the director of human resources and I had interviewed a few candidates for the position. One was the son of the head football coach at City High and had played football for Iowa.

I had noticed the Peach Bowl ring on his finger when we interviewed him but I made any connection. We had selected another applicant that was far better qualified for the position.

When the phone rang and Hayden Fry’s secretary said, “Please hold for Hayden Fry?” I was speechless for a moment and then I thought someone must have been playing a trick on me. As soon as I heard his voice I knew it was him. He had called to recommend the former player for the physical education teacher. We had a nice conversation but it was too late. We had already selected the other candidate.

Within an hour the City High Coach came to my office and demanded I hire his son. He told about all of the people he knew in the community and in my attendance area. He said he was close friends with several members of the school board. It was a not so subtle threat.

I reported the contact with Hayden Fry and the incident with the coach to the Central Office. As it turned out the district offered this guy a part-time position at City High and he turned it down. The next day he decided he wanted the job after all because they had combined it with something else to make it full time but it was too late because they had given it to someone else.