by Malcolm Butler
I went to the principal’s office last week and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t in trouble.
Nope.
I met with Principal Jenny Blalock at A.E. Phillips Laboratory School last week to talk about a number of matters, some LPJ related and some just Malcolm-had-what-he-thought-was-a-brilliant-idea related.
The latter may not be entirely true, but Jenny at least was kind enough to listen.
However, as I sat and talked for almost an hour about my memories of A.E. Phillips and some of the icons of the school, it took me back to some great times at a special place.
When you are 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-years old, you don’t necessarily appreciate things.
Like teachers. Like principals. Like a school.
I know I didn’t at that time. All I looked forward to was the end of the school day. The end of the school year. And then the end of elementary school and junior high …and the chance to move on to Ruston High (ironically, another place that was special but that I didn’t truly appreciate until years later).
I spoke in detail to Jenny about Alex Laney, my junior high English, history and social studies teacher. A man who in a lot of ways I was terrified of as I moved up from grade to grade, knowing that my two years with Mr. Laney were coming. He had his bluff in on me before I ever stepped in his classroom.
I’ve been blessed to have had a lot of great teachers throughout my education, from elementary school to junior high to high school and through college at Louisiana Tech. A lot of very impactful people in my life.
If I started to try to mention them all, I would fail. But I’ve been lucky in that area of my life for sure.
And, Alex Laney is No. 1 on my list.
The man found a way to make learning somewhat … maybe fun at that age would be an exaggeration but at least … enjoyable.
Hell, I still can recite a number of lines from poems due to Mr. Laney. He would give us bonus points for each line of poetry that we could memorize and recite to him.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is still my favorite poem of all time, and it’s due to Mr. Laney. I remember during the pandemic lockdown, walking along the Huckleberry Trails paths with my border collie Jeter over behind Cypress Springs Elementary. I found myself reciting lines and thinking of Mr. Laney almost 35 years after I finished at A.E.P.
Mr. Laney was also known for his love of Saint Patrick’s Day. We always had a party, and he made the best-tasting green punch that anyone has ever had … it was legendary. In fact, Jenny Blalock asked me during our conversation if I had the recipe. I don’t.
I think only a red-headed Irish man in Heaven knows the recipe for that concoction.
So many Alex Laney stories came back to me during my talk with Jenny. Heck, at one point, I actually choked up talking about the man. The same man who tore both Mike Hinton and me up with his wooden paddle (yes, those were the days where teachers could paddle you) after we were caught in a game of arm wrestling when we were supposed to be doing something else. I don’t recall what, but it wasn’t arm wrestling in class.
I had plenty of run ins with Mr. Laney, all of them my own doing of course. But despite all of those, he is still the lead-off batter in my lineup of great teachers.
It’s funny. My week started talking about A.E. Phillips with Jenny and culminated talking about former principal Dr. Robert Hearn during a conversation with his son, Bob.
Dr. Hearn was always friendly and fair. And he cared about the school and its students. He and Alex Laney and Randy Moore and …. I could go on and on with other names … made A.E. Phillips a special place during those years.
A lot has changed at the school when it comes to enrollment and additional classroom and a new-and-improved playground and so many other things. But as I talked to Jenny Blalock, one thing I could tell from our conversation: A.E. Phillips is still a special place.
They just have their generation of Alex Laneys and Robert Hearns and Randy Moores making an impact on their students … even if those students don’t quite realize it now.
