Last July 9 and 10, 2010 I met an old man that had changed my perception of life. This old man’s name is Lawrence Eugene Baughman or just simply “Gene.”
For one whole day, together with my friend Faissal, Gene taught us values and lessons in life he knew and experienced. Coming from a family who lived in a farm in Chester, Gene sought success through perseverance and hard work. He had worked for the United States Air Force during the war as an aircraft engineer. Through this encounter he gained his knowledge of the military and the government. After the war Coach Gene went back to Chester and worked as a guard for Chester’s Penitentiary where some of the ruthless criminals in the Midwest were taken. “This is where I learned about the people around me”, Gene told us with his years of experience in the penitentiary. After this he served as a Baseball and Basketball Coach for elementary children in Chester where he had a record of 364 wins and 48 losses in his career. That’s where we took the name coach and eventually what we called him throughout the stay.
During our first day Coach took me and Faissal to a Restaurant just outside Chester after the Mississippi Bridge. At first sight we didn’t recognize the place because it is situated in the center of the old buildings and shops near the railroad. The place was called Al’s and they served one of the finest catfish dishes in Chester. Most of the people there new Coach and was very hospitable to visitors like us. There ,he introduced us also to his friends and the town’s people.
After eating dinner Coach took us for a tour of Chester. Our first stop was the old Chester Penitentiary where he worked for a couple of years. The penitentiary was also one of the locations of my favorite TV program “Prison Break” which made me excited. Coach also drove us to the Country Club where he plays Golf together with his friends and to one of Chester’s lakes. The day was almost over but we were still driving his classy white buink around town. After the tour we went back to his house where we met his pets or what he told us his family. Coach Gene had no family for quite a long time and was together only with his pets. One of them was Chiba, a Siamese cat that weighed like a small boy and Buster, a weiner dog that was very friendly and cheerful to around people. He also showed us his house and the pictures of the 60 international students that have stayed with him during the past years.
In his house, Coach Gene presented to us his own collection of movies in DVD and video tapes. Some of them were new ones like “The National Treasure” with good actors namely Nicholas Cage that made me wonder that the Coach had good taste in watching home movies. He had this collection of old video tapes also that were mostly about the air force during the war. We watch one of his video tape collections that was about the life of a pilot in the air force after the cold war. As I saw the Coach’s face I could tell he was reminiscing the time when he used to fly airplanes. As a veteran of the war he could still recall the life he had before.
After an evening movie he showed us our rooms In the house. We had two separate bedrooms and it was big and had a TV in them. There were airplanes hanging by the ceiling (miniatures of the planes he flew before) and souvenirs that were given by the students who have stayed with him for the past years. The bed was soft and it felt very comfortable. I didn’t tell him about this was the first time I was sleeping in my own room inside a house.
In the morning I was awakened by a growl and a lick to my face. To my surprise It was buster who had been crawling to my bed and licking my face because I forgot to lock my door before I slept. We ate our breakfast in one of the town’s people regularly visited diners. Inside the diner we caught up with Judge Brown and a couple of his friends having breakfast. We also met some friends of Coach Gene who welcomed us very warmly. After breakfast we took a stroll around town and went to the hills where as Coach said where the rich people live and there we met one of his closest friends. They were very hospitable as they welcomed us to their home. After a tour around their house they should us their set of cars and even took us for a spin in a convertible Chrysler. As what the locals said, “When you’re in America, the first thing you must do is ride a convertible”, lucky for me it was with an elegant Chrysler.
In the afternoon we went to the farm of Ed and Karen Stallman for a cookout of all the host families. All the participants had the chance to share their 24 hour home stay experience with an American family. There were good food and games for all, some even got to ride an ATV around the farm. The day was almost over and we had to say goodbye to our host families. As we walked Coach Gene to his car he told us to enjoy our stay in the United States, we must never forget to experience the culture and always look back to our families and where we came from. Coach was a really good guy, even though he had no families I could tell that every student or person that was with him, he treated as his own. This 24 hour home stay taught me many things in life. Inspire others through your own experiences; never forget God and your family and the last is to continue being a life -long learner. You’re the number one coach, Coach Gene!
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