Our Teenage Years Growing up in a small town in the 80's

T. J. Wray grew up in a small town. He grew up quick and got his first job at only thirteen years old. He knew people depended on him to do his job every day. So for two years he never missed a day. No matter the weather conditions, he always got the job done. He learned responsibility for his actions at a very early age. He was very active in his church and with his youth group. He learned a lot from the positive role models in his church like his youth pastor and his Sunday school teacher. He didn’t party or drink in junior high or high school. He was responsible and went to work after school. He got his driver’s license at age fourteen and drove himself everywhere, while the other kids still rode the bus. Even though he was a teenager, he was an adult! He really enjoyed life in a small town. Everybody knew him and knew his truck. They would wave at him as he drove down the street. They would say hello as they passed on the sidewalk or in stores. He said that in a small town, people “actually” shook hands. In his teenage years, he was an avid fisherman. He used to travel around the state of Oklahoma looking for the best fishing holes. He once said that he would rather “fish, than breath.” There’s nothing that compares to hooking into a largemouth bass. He was quoted as saying, “If they don’t ride motorcycles and go fishing in heaven, I don’t want to go!”

Nowadays, he lives in the big city. He says that nobody knows anybody, and they don’t want to. He says that everyone is always in a big hurry and would rather run over you than wait for one minute for you to move. No one ever seems to slow down and enjoy life, in the big city. He really misses Life in a Small Town.