Michael Bowen:
CLASS OF 1980
Deming High SchoolClass of 1980
Deming, NM
University of TampaClass of 2000
Tampa, FL
Michael's Story
Finished my BA/BS in Secondary Education and Social Sciences in 12/2000. Finished my teaching internship by the skin of my teeth. Took a job with the Navy's training establishment in 2002, now working with one of the Navy's training schools in Pensacola, FL.
The job has positives & negatives; on the bright side I get to spend a lot of time writing & researching. The negative is not obvious to the average bear; my workplace has no windows, which is almost cruel & inhumane when you live in Florida. I have lots of time to research on athletic training & performance, which ties in well to my off-duty interests; coaching adult runners & triathletes. I also race some (usually 10K or half-marathon), & recently had the triathlon bug bite me hard. Since my swimming is terrible it provides me a task to work on improving.
I married (second time) the woman I least suspected I would find in this town; one with a relatively-progressive point of view. Suzanne spent 16 years teaching English & gifted studies in the local school district. Now she's part-owner of a telecommunications business & works her tail off evangelizing on the latest technologies, especially when it entails Web 2.0 & social empowerment. For us it's a mutual inspiration society; she marvels at my self-discipline when it comes to exercise & fitness. I marvel at her ability to adapt & assimilate new technologies.
While I like Pensacola's weather for many parts of the year, especially when everyone else is shoveling out their driveways, the summer can be miserable. Besides, we live in constant watch of the Weather Channel from the beginning of June until the end of November. Take that, the lunatic drivers, & the relative lack of good shopping out of the equation & I'd never leave...there's nothing like a Sunday mid-morning sitting on the beach at Flounder's, having a cup of coffee & a glass of champagne while waiting on your brunch.
There are quite a few people from my school experience I'd love to see again. I considered myself to be pretty much a social pariah (outcast), which might have been my own perception. Some of the photos I've seen of old classmates reveal many of us haven't aged all that badly. It's probably e...Expand for more
asier to deal with the old colleagues once the barrier of parents & their particular economics are replaced with our own accomplishments & interests.
Probably my biggest surprise was visiting Deming the last time, in 1995. I took a week to take three deep breaths & relax before I started college. During that particular stretch an old classmate came by the house; my stepmother was watching her son. My father & I were having a cup of coffee on the front fence, discussing father/son topics, when she drove up. While I took the time to say hello, she did not give me the time of day...hello, goodbye...take a flying leap... Going back to Deming to me was much like hooking up with an old flame...you know all of the components, but there are some minor differences here and there.
As a teacher/coach, I miss my PE coach, Mr. Hofacket. I'm not certain whether he would be proud of me for taking on the challenges I have...I'd like to think he had a lot to do with the way I deal with fitness issues.
I don't have any children, but Suzanne & I do have a retired racing greyhound named Rubin. While we like to think we've been wise & prudent 'hound parents it's more likely we've spoiled him rotten; when Suzanne has to travel for business I stay home, when I have to travel for business she does. Rare is the time when we travel together, but when we do we leave the "Rude Dog" with close friends, after a couple of bad boarding experiences.
I haven't raced as much this year as in the past, mostly because the local 5K races were little more than local bragging rights. I've won a few masters' division awards at races, & taken top-three at many others, but only one outright victory. I won a 5K race at Great Lakes Naval Station, north of Chicago, during the first year of my internship. Tactically, it was the perfect race; caught up with the leaders at about two miles & stayed off their shoulder for about three blocks. I then pushed the pace & threw in about 30 seconds of surging at each of the four turns left on the course. The down side of the experience was that GLAKES MWR gave age group awards, rather than overall, so I got a first place in the 40-44 year old age group, rather than a first overall.
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