Change is Inevitable But Some Things Never Change

Jack Hooper and Mark

It can be an emotional thing to go back home. It was May 26, 2022. My sister, Debbie Gray, and I were taking a journey back to our hometown of Tyler, Texas. It was exactly fifty-five years to the day since I had graduated from Robert E. Lee High School. Six years had passed since we last visited there and we were looking forward to it with great anticipation. Still, as we pulled into Tyler after our nine-hour drive from Adamsville, Tennessee, it became increasingly apparent that much had changed since our last visit. 

One thing that had not changed, however, was our love for Texas beef barbecue. Our first stop was to experience Stanley's Barbecue, at its same location on Beckham Street, and to get a savory beef barbecue sandwich. The smells and tastes were still as awesome on this day as they were "back in the day." 

Then driving on through Tyler to check into our hotel, we were astounded at the changes which had taken place in the city we loved. 

Our first outing was a baseball game where we got to watch our young cousin play. It was such a happy reunion with some of our relatives who still live in the area. Then my sister and I returned to the our hotel after a full day. Since it was the very date of my high school graduation, how nostalgic it was to be back at that place on that particular night!

Setting out the next morning, I observed that many of the old landmarks and special places would be hard to find. So much had changed that I began to feel somewhat bewildered and confused. Touchstones from years past were no longer there or were so different that I could hardly perceive any sense of location. 

My high school had been leveled and a new one built. The new facilities, though on the same campus, were extremely different. There was nothing to identify the grand old high school where so many treasured memories were created. Why, even the name of the school had been changed from Robert E. Lee to a new name, Tyler Legacy. 

At the site of my childhood homeplace there is now a Home Depot. I simply could not identify any landmark, not even a tree, which would help me locate where our house once stood. 

The disorientation continued as I drove to Rice Elementary, my school for the first six grades. The church where I was baptized no longer met in the same building and that old facility is now an alternative school for the Tyler Independent School District. The site of Aunt Opal's and Uncle George's house, where I spent so much time growing up, was also completely unrecognizable. They were all gone--those sentimental, connecting places in my old stomping grounds. It took me a while to be able to express the emptiness inside.   

It felt as if I was in a dream, waking in the middle of the night with no light, trying in vain to get to the bathroom, and I couldn't even find the door. What a strange, frustrating experience it was!

 Finally on Saturday night things began to change and I was able to discern some sense of direction. Here's how: Deb and I were able to contact and visit with our dear old friends, Jack and Tootsie Hooper. Even though they had moved and are now living in a different home in Tyler, the landmark friendship was the same as it was fifty-five years earlier (also) in the month of May.

That May in 1967, Jack, having kept up with my high school career in basketball and baseball, decided that his college friend and classmate, Coach Ken Dugan at David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University), should meet me. He not only contacted Coach Dugan on my behalf, he invested his time and resources by driving me from Tyler to Nashville, six hundred and fifty miles, to introduce us personally. So, as it turned out, Coach Dugan did indeed offer me a baseball scholarship. I moved far away from Tyler, but this opportunity paved the way for me to play college baseball in what would soon become a nationally known program and to receive an excellent college education. 

You see, in this critical time hardly anyone had been pointing me in a productive direction after high school. I didn't even know who my high school counselor was; my parents had limited education. No one was helping me think beyond graduation. What an unspeakable blessing this timely opportunity was! 

Though much has changed in my hometown, one thing has never changed but has only grown dearer--that is the gift of direction, kindness, and love during a pivotal time in my life given by this wonderful man, Jack Hooper. His gift has continued to bless my life ever since.

He was also my greatest Sunday school teacher, not so much because of his lessons, but because he took time and invested in me. He reflected Christ to me. Jack was a great leader when I needed someone to show me the way. 

 As Debbie and I made our way back home to Tennessee after a three day visit, I had a renewed sense of connection, appreciation, and love for this man from my hometown, now in his eighties, whose generous heart and spirit have never changed but only grown better with time. 

In I Corinthians 13:13, the Apostle Paul said, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." The reason is one day our faith will be sight and our hope will be a reality in heaven. But love will remain forever throughout eternity. Yes, change is inevitable but some things never change--they only get better with time. Thank you, Jack Hooper, for your great demonstration of love toward a young boy fifty-five years ago.

Remember, we are all leaders regardless of our position.