J.R. MAYHUGH JR.
"To hate truth, is to hate the One who is."
J.R. Mayhugh Jr.
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J.R. MAYHUGH JR. (who goes by "Jim") is a soldier, teacher, and resolute seeker of the truth, whose daydreaming mind oftentimes causes him to stare at the clouds, fueling his desire to fly like a bird - or an angel. His career as a soldier was full of adventures and travels, to include "jumping out of perfectly good airplanes". He taught high school English to over 3,500 amazing young people for more than two decades. His new season in life is mapped out for writing YA novels, children's books, and traveling the world (but this time staying safely buckled within the confines of the perfectly good airplane). Above all, he loves serving God with the awesome blessing of living in sunny Arizona.
BIRTHPLACE: Columbus, Indiana.
PRONUNCIATION OF LAST NAME: The "May" part is of course easy, but the "hugh" sounds like "you" but with an "h" in front of it - well you get the point.
THE "JR" THAT COMES AFTER MAYHUGH: I was named after my dad, so I get the extra moniker - "Junior" (JR.).
FAMILY: Married to my best friend since 1977. We have 3 incredible children and 7 extraordinary grandkids.
EDUCATION: Carbondale Community High School , Carbondale, Illinois. Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Science and a Minor in Speech from Northern Arizona University; Post-Baccalaureate Degree in Secondary Education and a Minor in English from Arizona State University; Master’s Degree (with honors) in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Reading from Northern Arizona University.
SOLDIER TIME: Served in the U.S. Army as an enlisted in Military Intelligence at Fort Bragg, NC. Served as an officer in the U.S. Army in Military Intelligence (in various places). Performed duties in the final days of Operation Desert Storm, at Camp Doha, Kuwait. Placed in the inactive reserves after leaving active duty, then later promoted to Major before entering the retired reserves.
FAVORITE AUTHORS: The One who wrote the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). The other list starts with C.S. Lewis.
FAVORITE HOBBY: Watching movies with my wife at just about any theater (popcorn is mandatory!)
SOME FAVORITE MOVIES: No Time For Sergeants, The Chronicles of Narnia, Jesus Revolution.
FAVORITE STUDIES: 1.) The Bible from cover to cover 2.) Eschatology in God's Word 3.) Conspiracy Theories (pretty much any of them) 4.) The Books of Enoch
FAVORITE DEVOTIONAL: My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chambers.
CURRENT FAVORITE FOOD: Thai food is awesome! (but if I see a burger joint on the way to the Thai food place - well ... then sometimes I just have to "flip a coin"!)
The FUSION OF FIRESTORMS strategy
fusion: the process or result of joining two or more things together to form a single entity
(such as combining various topics, like aliens and a new world order into one story)
firestorm: a raging controversy
This all started while Jim was learning the hearts and minds of teenagers for more than 20 years, not only in the classroom but in the on-campus student led Christian clubs. He saw what they loved or hated in the stories they were required to read and what was available in the library.
"I treasured sitting and listening to students talk about their lives, or anything else they enjoyed sharing. But if a topic I was fascinated with came up in conversation, and the "said topic" was controversial, then my adrenaline kicked in, and with great restraint shared as well. But I began to notice a trend with most students. The most popular topics that kept coming up from my high school English class students, ranged from conspiracy theories, to aliens, and of course the Illuminati - a potential strategy was born."
"One day when I was hanging out with my wife in one of her favorite stores, I read a sign cleverly placed next to one of the establishment's most popular products. The sign informed you that, "The ingredients in this soap helps to induce sleep for kids". I thought, "Wow, kids will happily play with the bar of soap shaped like a robot, not knowing it could possibly calm them down and maybe even help them fall asleep" - genius."
"My mind went back to those students and their choice topics, so I began to design and plan lessons (not subverting the required curriculum) using the "firestorm" subjects of debate. Soon thereafter, I observed students willingly jump into a lesson, without thinking about the positive affects the ingredients of it could have on their burgeoning grammar and composition skills."
"For years I was approached by seniors who would ask if I was talking about their favorite topics so they could come by and visit. Even after I retired and visited the campus a year later, I was still approached by students who were pleading with me to come to their class and talk about subjects they seemed to be hungry for."
