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8
Renovator of Lives
Sitting at her desk, Betty
Hines ripped open a letter marked
read.
the signature, and her mind
filled with memories of Mendez and her
first days
at
a
Detroit high school. She had battled
with Mendez almost from the beginning, dogging
the truant junior to shape up. It was
the same challenge she had faced with so many
students.
In 1984 Hines came
to Southwestern High School as the new principal.
The windows
rattled in the wind. The
roofs leaked. Every room seemed to need repair.
Worse, students roamed the
halls, some wearing gang colors. Classrooms were
often
empty due to truancy and a
38-percent dropout rate. After first surveying the
school,
Hines returned to
her office, pulled out
a
writing pad and began writing.
teach them if they're not
here. We can't get them here if we don't offer
training they
can use. Once here, we
must provide a safe, clean, caring
environment.
just want to redecorate a
school. She wanted to renovate the lives of her
students.
Hines first organized parent,
student and teacher groups to improve the site. It
took
four years, but every window was
eventually replaced, and repairs were made to the
damaged areas.
She also
tackled the attendance problem, marked by the
regular absence of nearly 30
percent
of the students.
She
initiated incentive programs,
including
internships with
local businesses, and
she guaranteed to teach useful skills to all those
who maintained
a certain grade level.
Today, attendance is at 90 percent.
When Hines realized that the majority
of students getting scholarship assistance were
athletes, she started banging on
corporate doors and applying for grants. Since
1988,
scholarship awards totaling
nearly $$9 million have gone to her students for
academic
achievements.
In the earliest days, however, there
were few incentives for kids to stick with school.
To get them back, she sometimes drove
through the community to find them.
She
hounded a
gang member in
just this way. One afternoon she
went
to the boy's
home to see if he was doing his
schoolwork, only to find he wasn't there. Without
a
second thought, she drove through
every street. When she spotted him
his
buddies, she pulled up.
took him home to
his mother where the three talked for more than an
hour. Afterward,
the
boy
slowly
began
to
improve.
He
still
needed
constant
supervision,
but
the
principal never
flinched.
The night he graduated, he
caught Hines completely off guard. He took his
diploma,
then embraced her. He buried
his head on her shoulder, sobbing without shame as
his
classmates erupted in cheers.
Now, Betty Hines has built a teaching
staff that mirrors her beliefs about renovating
the lives of students who have been
worn down or broken. Hines explains,
something in every young person that
can be cultivated into greatness.
9
Young Muhammad Ali
The 12-year-old boy had ridden his new
bicycle to an annual meeting at the center of
the city, during which businessmen
would give children balloons and ice cream. To
the boy's dismay, his new bike was
stolen at the meeting.
In
tears,
the
child
told
someone
he
wanted
to
report
the
crime.
He
was
led
to
the
nearest
policeman,
who
was
Officer
Joe
Martin,
also
a
boxing
coach
at
the
local
boxing
club. The boy told Martin he would beat the person
who stole his bike.
Martin told him,
weighed in at 89 pounds, became a
member in Joe Martin's club and remained there
throughout a six-year amateur boxing
career. It was the first step on a path that was
to
lead him to become one of the most
famous boxers of all time. For the boy's name
was Cassius Clay.
Looking
back on those early
years, Christine
Martin, Joe's wife, remembers driving
groups
of
teenagers
to
boxing
matches,
rolling
from
town
to
town
in
a
wagon.
In
those days, the black boys couldn't go
into the restaurants, so she didn't take any of
the boys in. She'd just go in herself
and get what they wanted.
Christine
said,
was
a
very
easy-to-
get-along-with
fellow.
Very
easy
to
handle.
Very
polite.
Whatever
you
asked
him
to
do,
that's
what
he'd
do.
He
was
a
wonderful
person.
Gradually he was gaining weight
and developing every bit of his talent.
At
Central
High
School
in
those
days,
Clay
was
known
as
the
kid
who
wouldn't
smoke, who wouldn't drink even soda,
who was very shy, especially around girls. His
first kiss, it is said, made him faint.
He was remembered, above all, as a kid obsessed
with boxing.
Teachers all
believed that if he had not been a boxer, he would
not have stood out in
any way.
he
was
supposed
to.
But
Clay
was
never
referred
to
his
teachers
as
a
behavioral
problem in
school.
Looking back on those early
years, long after he had changed his name and way
of
life, Clay was to recall:
confidence. I thought white people were
superior. I was a kid named Cassius
Clay.
After he won an
Olympic gold medal as an 18-year-old in 1960, he
was met by the
mayor
and
about
200
friends
and
fans.
He
rode
in
a
30-car
motorcade
to
a
welcome-home
party at the Central High School. He had earned
100 victories in 108
amateur bouts,
including many national titles and now the Olympic
gold medal. After
that, Ali was to
become a professional in boxing.
At the
age of 21, Ali was inspired by a human rights
activist to become a member of
the
Muslim faith and given the name Muhammad Ali. It
was not just
a name, but a
title meaning
10
Look Great for Free
Michael and Susan can't
even buy a pair of shoes these days without being
recognized.
Since
they
appeared
on
the
TV
show
Makeover
earlier
this
month,
undergoing
$$300,000
worth
of
plastic
surgery
and
then
marrying
each
other
at
the
Disney World Wedding Pavilion, the
couple have become minor celebrities. But three
months ago, their life was quite
different.
In
their
apartment
on
Valentine's
Day,
the
couple
explained
how
and
why
they
decided
to join their wedding day with the remodeling of
their bodies, and why they
decided to
do it on national television. As much as they
loved each other for what was
inside,
both were unhappy with their own looks. They felt
they suffered when others
judged
them
on
their
appearances.
After
losing
more
than
100
pounds,
Susan,
a
42-year-
old drama teacher at a high school, was
embarrassed by excess
skin on her
stomach. Michael said he had always
hated his nose, calling it big and beak-like. Both
were looking into the costs of plastic
surgery, but learned they would have to save up
for a long time to have one or two
procedures. They agreed to apply for an appearance
on
extensive plastic surgery
and broadcasts their experiences. After they were
accepted
for the show, Michael
privately told producers he would ask Susan to
marry him in
the live broadcast.
They parted for nearly two months
because of operations and workouts. They would
not
see each other again
until their wedding ceremony. Then the two would
appear
looking dramatically
different. Susan said that while it was hard not
to see Michael
for
seven
weeks,
the
wait
enhanced
her
anticipation
of
the
big
day.
something very romantic and
old-fashioned about being separated from your
spouse
until the wedding
day,
Doctors
completed
Michael's
surgeries
in
a
single,
eight-hour
session.
Meanwhile,
Susan spent three days under the knife.
While they were healing from the operations,
the pair made wedding plans and stuck
to a strict physical exercise plan at the gym.
shopping for a wedding dress
with the bandages still on her stomach.
The
whirlwind
ended
with
a
December
wedding
in
Disney
World,
decorated
with
$$25,000 worth of red roses. About 100
family members and friends came, and there
were 10 bridesmaids and groomsmen.
Michael showed off his new look, to a cheering
and baffled wedding audience, before
Susan walked down the aisle. Those gathered
gasped when Michael lifted her bridal
veil.
ABC
paid
for
the
wedding,
the
wedding
dress,
the
plastic
surgery,
the
doctor
appointments, and room and board costs.
Michael estimated the final cost was more
than
$$1
million.
whole
thing
was
an
adventure,
said
Michael.
don't
get
enough adventures in
life, and it totally enhanced the wedding
experience for me.
Neither
have
regrets
about
the
operations
or
the
wedding,
or
being
shown
on
television in their underwear
undergoing plastic surgery. Indeed, they hope
their story
is an inspiration to
others.
11
Speed Dating in
Australia
It's a
warm summer evening, perhaps a little too warm for
the 20 men and 20 women
who are
mingling nervously outside a smart South Perth
restaurant.
All are holding
tight to their glasses of drinks.
Except for a few friends who have come together,
none
of the 40 men and women know each
other.
Ann Taylor enters to
break the ice and gets things started. A woman
with a smile, Ann
has all the motherly
charms of a village matchmaker. And that's what
she is. For this
is a speed dating
party and Ann is an executive of Euro Speed
Dating, a new Perth
company dedicated
to bringing people together.
The concept of speed dating is
intriguing. It's quick, it's economical and the
menu's
pretty
extensive.
Men
and
women
call
Ann
to
book
in
for
one
of
their
weekly
functions. She caters
to three age-groups: 25
-
35,
35
-
45 and
45
-
55. There are no
economic, academic or social
restrictions or requirements.
At the restaurant, the couples are each
seated at tables for two or three minutes, trying
to
get
to
know
one
another.
At
the
end
of
the
three
minutes,
a
bell
is
rung
and,
depending on the rules of the night,
either the man or the woman moves to meet the
person
at
the
next
table.
Each
person
is
given
a
little
with
every
participant's name on it. If you meet
someone who gave you a flutter you tick his or
her name. Or names.
I went along last Tuesday to a
25
-
35 get-together. What
kind of people would I meet?
Young,
progressive,
or
aggressive
professionals
who
treat
their
love
lives
with
the
efficiency of a business
meeting. Do nice girls and boys do this sort of
thing? Well,
I'll let them speak for
themselves.
There was
Vanessa, a most attractive 23-year-old engineer
who has lived in Perth for
most of her
life. She said,
means they are people I
meet all the time. If I was going to have a
relationship with
one of them it would
have happened already.
Then
there was Bevan, a 30-year-old labourer who was
seen rising shakily to his feet
after
two hours sitting down in a smallish chair.
and it's a great concept. Plus, I
ticked four names. Hope at least one of them ticks
me
too. I have to say it got a bit
boring at the end though,
That's
not
surprising.
Two
hours
of
asking
and
answering
variations
of
the
same
questions,
gets pretty wearing at the end. But how
much can you know about a person in three
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