Andres Garza:  

ost meger financial resources." School was great and I miss it. Wish I had stayed there - FOREVER!!! I got a degree in History, God only knows why! My minor was Anthropology. What can I say? I always wanted to be "Indiana Jones". "Treasures, women, exotic places...life would be simple." If not, I would live with chimps. They have manners. NO FRATS!!! That was for people to pretend they were happy, try to find identity, think they fitted in, recommend shrinks and exchange therapists numbers. Me??? Just student groups and Honor Societies. Yeah, I was Dean's List, Who's Who, la, la la, la-la....Everything that I should have done in H.S. I did in college. So much for being a LOSER, hey!!! That is where it really mattered, I guess. Too bad they do not reflect my teacher pay. Hee! Hee! Workplace I teach at Edinburg North. No, I never applied at our ALma Mater. Are you kidding??? That place was a dump. The only placed I liked was the Dungeon. Library as most would like it to be called. Been here since '94. I love it there. Yeah, I love history too. However, I am still working on loving the kids. Hey, all things considering...this profession chose me. I try to make a difference in kids lives because I know that for some...I am the most stable individual they see in their lives. I am a model for them to emmulate. Many I have reached and many I have not. The greatest pride that I have is that somehow a child may remember me oneday and say to the world. "Mr. Garza cared when other's said not too. He took the time, when other's simply wanted to get home for dinner. And, Mr. Garza said what he meant and meant what he said." I am the man that I am to day because of my teacher's and the individuals, who took the time to care, in my life as a student. I was a child then and I am a man today. From them I learned what it meant to be a man, a husband, and a father. Everything I am I owe it to another. That is why I am here. I have not forgotten their sacrifice and I can do nothing less for those who follow behind me. What kind of a man would I be, if I forget who I am, where I come from, and had no sense of my direction? Too all those who affected me, I sincerely thank you. I am a better man today, because you cared. Military Work Still In Progress!!! Never, made it a full-time career because I have little tolerance for the stupid things that stupid people do. If you knew me, you knew that I was not one to sit idley by and say, "Hey, I love the military...I do little and I am just here for the retirement and benfits." Bullshit, I'll fight anyone, anywhere. Let's just do the job and get it done right the first time. I stay connected with the hopes we will return to those days when America bled. When men and women in uniform sacrificed all their tomorrow's so we could have our today's. We knew our enemies and we fought them with hell. Today, we are lackidaisical and we are a beauracracy. So after the 1st Gulf War and the constant dismal leadership that resulted in further loss of lives and plunging morale, I went to another front...our classrooms. There I fight a war for young children's minds and hearts with the hopes of a better tomorrow. I'll fight and die if necessary to know that my love ones will see another tomorrow. That is why after returning to Active Duty for 2002 after 9/11, I came home despite being highly encouraged to stay. I said, "Here is my number, call me when there is a real war and insure my ticket takes me straight there. No pit stops or other port calls. Please have my weapon ready. Do not worry, I'll go home, but I will not unpack." In the meantime, I am back with my baby and wife and I'll wait for that call, bug my Reserve Unit as to when we will get deployed to the front, create hate and discontent... and I check my messages everyday! The phone does not ring... I am becoming a "civilian pig".... God help me.