Arthur Cox: Well, we’re having a good year, everything seems to be coming together. It’s kind of early, though, the phone thing is working pretty good. I haven’t seen nothing, but everything else is coming together. See, when you transfer over to [new] things, you have to see how it’s going to do. Then when you realize it, everything comes together at once.
When you look at some things that you are doing [now], it’s a good thing. You know, sooner or later, [students would have all been phone-less, because] that’s where it’s coming to be, because people are misusing the phone. But sooner or later, see, they ain’t going to have no phone…And I think that’s the right way, because people [take] advantage of the phone.
If you eliminate their phone, then we ain’t going to have no phone [either]. And I think that it’d be right. Because if they see us on the phone, first thing they’re going to say, ‘Hey, Mr. Cox, let me use your phone.’ You see where that goes? But if we ain’t got no phone, nobody got no phone. Then that’d have respect for them, too. You know, not only for them, it’s for everybody. You can’t make everybody happy. It’s not going to solve that problem. But you start right in between and cut it right there. They’ll be mad for a few minutes. But that’s the way it is.
You can’t change kids like you can’t change grown folks. All this whole different ballgame, it’s a mood. It’s a different climate for everybody.
You have to have something for a goal. Say, Mr. Cox, what goal am I to keep me on the right direction? Because whatever you’re doing, with people, with school, it’s a mind thing. And sooner or later, if you don’t have the right mind, it will get to you. But you’re only human. You [might] look at it and say, ‘Mr. Cox, I’m having a bad day today.’ But always remember, you’re above ground. You’re not under the ground. You look at somebody else…you’ll see somebody is sick, and you’re crying about how you got a headache. There’s always something going to be worse than what you got. But you have to keep going. Then that will give you a, “Golly, man, I was thinking I’m sick.” Go someplace where people are real sick. You see what I’m saying? It’ll wake your mind up.
Things change as you go, as you go through life. Even right now, you know sometimes you’ll be going somewhere, and you’ll be thinking about something. When you’re maybe seven or eight, and that vision comes right back to you. You’ll pass by something and see something. Oh, I remember this. Your vision comes back to everything you done, even from the good to the bad. You see what I’m saying? And that’s the way life is. You’re never going to forget nothing. Even if it’s good or bad, it’s always going to come back to you. You know, you’re trying not to remember the bad stuff, but it comes to you. That’s part of life. Yeah, it’s part of life. But you take every day that you’re above ground, do your best.
Whatever you do, do your best. You know, sometimes your best ain’t good enough, but you keep going. And that’s what makes who you is. When you leave away from here, everything that you’re going to do in life, it’s going to get harder and harder. It’s not going to get easy for you, but you always remember, never give up. You know, especially when you’re young. You can do anything you decide to do, but lay it in your heart. And failing, it’s a good thing, but then you get up and do it again.
Grace Hu: Do you have anything that you want to say specifically to those students that are just coming in, like the freshmen?
AC: Yeah, just take one day at a time. And be young. Never rush life. When you’re young, sometimes you come in, most of the time they come in, the freshmen, they’re scared. Just take one day at a time, everything that comes to you. Always remember that.
