APES... Apes are the BEST!!!

Not only did I live in Great Crossing and go to church in Great Crossing. I went to school at Great Crossing Elementary School!! We were the APES!! We had our own basketball team and I was a cheerleader for my 5th and 6th grade years. I loved it!! Jack Wise was the principla of Great Crossing School and he was also the basketball team coach. We all loved him dearly!! What other coach do you know that would take the team and the cheerleaders out to eat after some of the games. He was the best. His office always had an open door policy and you could go and talk to him if you had a problem. If you were in the 6th grade, he would even come to class and get you to answer the office phones for a short period of time. I think he was training all of us to be confident and self sufficent. It didn't even bother or worry me at all to answer the phone like an adult! What a way to build the self esteem of a child. He was truly the best!

I was friends with the Wise family most all of my life and in grade school I had a major crush on Mark. I even wore his gold basketball charm on a chain. We called that going together and in 6th grade, going together was the bomb!! Growing up with the Wise's I got a chance to meet a lot of wonderful and unique people. Mr. Wise was a South Eastern Conference referee. I dated Mark again in high school and after I graduated, I babysat Tony, the youngest Wise guy. This is how I was involved in the Wise household. Every now and then, a big name SEC referee would stop by the Wise house for a visit, and they were always so kind. My daddy was a HUGE basketball fan and he knew the referees by name, so he really got excited when I met one of them!!! The Wise's were wonderful people and still are!! Mr. Wise never failed to give me a huge hug every time he saw me and since I knew him 40+ years, I received a lot of hugs! Jack Wise died a few years ago, but the love and appreciation I have for him and his family will always remain in my heart...