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#Post#: 6356--------------------------------------------------
Wyatt Jones (19)
By: Jack Date: June 12, 2018, 4:27 am
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With everything going on, I probably shouldn't be posting old
stuff on a new bio, but there is a reason I'm doing it, and I'll
share that reason soon.
In the meantime, let me say that Wyatt is an employee of mine,
which is how I first met him, that I consider him a friend of
mine, and he's friends with several of my kids (both high school
and college, and especially Daniel), and he also helps us with
Scouts, especially when he's out of school. He just finished
his second year of college, though he's still a few hours short
of being officially a junior, and he's planning to take five
years to graduate. Wyatt will be 20 on 2 August.
Here's what I've said about him in the past:
11 September 2016
"Wyatt is a new employee. I felt a strong friendship towards him
from the first time I met him.
You should understand that my dad, most of his sons, and several
of his grandsons, have a similar look: dark brown hair, blue
eyes, fair skinned, slightly taller than average, and stocky;
broad through the chest and shoulders especially. Several of my
best friends - Josh Schleider (the Campus store manager), Mike
Guice (my unofficial college student), Josh Wilbanks, and even
Doug Marchant all share that look. Sure, a lot of guys have that
look, but guys with that look in a comic store just seem like
friends to me.
Now, Wyatt isn't such a big comic fan, but he's a huge fan of
movies and books - sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and horror. Even
without a big knowledge of comics, he and I have had a lot to
talk about.
Unlike Doug (the other new employee about whom I've written), I
already know that Wyatt's parents were believers in 'when buns
burn, sons learn', though I haven't heard much detail yet.
More importantly, Wyatt is an Eagle Scout, and he's willing to
help out with the other boys. He's already been to a meeting
with us, and we're working on getting his paperwork done, so he
can be an Assistant Scout Master. He's barely 18 himself, so he
can't run meetings, but he can be the second adult. I think I've
mentioned elsewhere that we're short a couple of adult
leadership positions, including one of our Scout Masters, so
having someone who's experienced like Wyatt is will be a huge
help.
And yes, he's already made several visits over here. He's
actually here now, enjoying the pool. You can tell his parents
were kind of strict with him. I'd invited him over for lunch,
and as soon as he walked in, he assured me he's already finished
all his assignments for tomorrow and Tuesday."
12 September 2016
"In the bio on Doug Halliwell, Kat mentioned my ability to find
information. Since I already mentioned that I know Wyatt used to
get spanked, I thought I'd share how I learned it.
Wyatt is living with his grandparents. They're pretty old (it
turns out that Wyatt's mom and I were in high school together,
though she was a freshman my senior year) and retired. They're
going to travel some, while they're still able, and Wyatt will
be helping out around the house and watching things when they're
gone.
That came up when I was asking at which stores he could work.
Since he has a car and doesn't live on campus, he's pretty open
about all the local ones.
Then he digressed a bit and was talking about his grandfather
trying to establish all these rules for him living there,
including (nay, especially!) when they're gone. He finally told
them he'd just promise to behave. I laughed a bit, and he looked
at me. I told him about going through the same thing when I
moved in with my dad. I also mentioned that the rules didn't
mean much, but every time I did something that would have
violated my childhood rules - even after I had my own apartment
- the first thing through my head was hoping my parents didn't
find out, so I wouldn't get whupped.
He laughed and said he sometimes had the same reaction. I
admitted I admitted my last whupping was at 15, and he blushed,
but then admitted he'd gotten one later than that.
""Car trouble?"" I asked.
He nodded. ""Taking it without permission."
He never went into much detail, but I do know his two younger
brothers (12 and 14, I think) both caught it over the summer."
15 September 2016
"Wyatt did a ride along with me Tuesday. I mentioned that he
lives with his grandparents and has his own car, so he can and
is willing to work at multiple stores when I need him. Because
his grandparents live over by my mom, he'll probably mostly be
working the Lamar store, but I took him to show him where all
the stores are and to introduce him to the workers.
Wyatt is one of those interesting people - I suppose he's
probably an introvert - but he'll be quiet and almost shy until
you get him alone, and then he'll talk non-stop on almost any
topic.
After leaving the mall store, we went to the out of town
location (Bryan's store), which gave us some uninterrupted time,
and I steered him back to my favorite topic, which resulted in
me hearing this story.
When Wyatt was 8 or 9 (based on the fact that his little
brothers were more than toddlers but less than school age), they
had a snow day. His little brothers were at a neighbor ladies
who usually kept them, and Mom had gone into work, but he and
Dad were home. Dad was going to make a trip to the store, so he
told Wyatt to go play with the neighbors until he got back.
At this point, they had a new puppy. The puppy had puppy
problems with piddling and chewing, so it was supposed to stay
in the laundry room at night, and when no one was home. Dad was
leaving, and Wyatt was about to leave, when he decided the puppy
might be too cold in the laundry room (where Dad had already put
it), so he went and let it out, then went to play.
When Dad got home... Have I mentioned that Wyatt's Dad suffers
from feet that get cold quick and easy? When Dad got home, he
found the puppy out and chewing on his Slipper."
"Now, Mr. Jones knew he and Wyatt had been home alone, he knew
he'd put the puppy in the laundry room, he knew that Wyatt had
left after him, and he was pretty darned sure that the puppy
couldn't take the baby gate down and put it where it went
without help.
When Wyatt was called in, he went through the garage, stopped
and took off his cold gear and his wet stuff, leaving him in
thermal underwear. He headed towards his room, and could smell
that Dad was making lunch, but then Dad stopped him.
""Do you see what puppy did to my slippers?"
""I'm sorry."
""How did puppy get out of the laundry room?"
""I was afraid he'd get cold."
""Didn't we already tell you he wouldn't get cold, and not to
let him in?"
""Yes."
The surviving shoe was then applied for several swats to the
back of Wyatt's long johns. Then there was a pause to lower the
long johns, and several more swats were applied.
Dad was so impressed, that, every since then, when he needed to
buy a new pair of slippers, the old pair was set aside for the
use of on his sons. While that was about 10 years ago, Wyatt is
sure that his little brothers are still whupped that way when
they get it (both of them got it over the summer is why he's so
sure)."
27 March 2017
"Wyatt has become a member of the extended family, during the
quiet time when I wasn't able to update much.
Back in January, his grandfather had cardiac problems. I met his
parents, but I never got into all the details. I want to say he
had a minor heart attack, then had angioplasty, but I might be
wrong on some of the details. What I do know is that he was in
the hospital for several days, then released, but was pretty
weak for a week or two, but seems like he's fine now, and he and
Wyatt's grandmother are still planning to take a cruise in May.
Wyatt's grandparents still live in the four bedroom house where
Wyatt's (mom? I think) grew up. When this first happened, his
aunt and uncle both came home, as well as his mom. Wyatt stays
in his uncle's old bedroom, and when Mom and Aunt talked about
sharing instead of kicking Wyatt out of his room, he told them,
""I'll just sleep at my boss's house."
Well, that raised a few questions, but Wyatt explained that I
had kids his age, and guest rooms, and that he often visited us
on the weekends.
Wyatt spent three nights in a row with us, from what I recall.
I think that part of the reason he was never a huge comics
reader is that they're just priced out of his range. Now that
he's working, and at a job where he gets discounts on comics,
he's been reading more stuff, which also makes for fun when he's
over here, since he's asking questions about the history of what
he just read, and what he should read next.
While it sounds like Wyatt has either been on good behavior, or
is just too old for his Dad to spank anymore, he did mention
that the 12 (now 13) year old got worn out over Spring Break,
for taking off without letting anyone know (and being gone for
several hours while not answering his phone - mall and movie
trip).
I actually have met both of the younger brothers now. Wayne is
the younger boy - a seventh grader. Bill is a high school
freshman, but still 14. Wayne is very cute, and definitely not
an early bloomer. Bill looks kind of gawky and awkward, but
apparently he's pretty athletic and a good basketball and
volleyball player."
There isn't much else. Max still lives in his grandparents
house. They still travel. He and his little brothers took a
trip with them last summer. He said it got pretty crowded, but
it was still fun. He's over here a lot, mostly on weekends
when he doesn't have to work. He's working full time now that
summer's here, but he still makes it over for a while almost
every day, and he requested Mondays off, so he can always do
Scouts.
Wyatt has been an assistant manager at Magicat's for just about
a year now, and that's the actual reason I'm posting his bio
now. I realize he's a college student, and that needs to be his
top priority, but if he thinks he can do it, I'm going to offer
him the position of manager at the Imaginarium.
#Post#: 6380--------------------------------------------------
Re: Wyatt Jones (19)
By: Jack Date: June 13, 2018, 4:17 am
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I had Daniel and Wyatt over yesterday morning. After I made
sure the kids were settled, the three of us sat down together.
"What have you heard about the Imaginarium?" I asked him.
He told me what had been talked about around the stores, and
there was already a general memo out explaining some of the
basics. I explained a bit of the details to him.
"The thing is, we don't have a manager yet. While I could hire
someone with retail experience, what I really need is someone
whom I know I can work with, someone who knows how I like to do
things, but, more importantly, someone whom I know will be
responsible - someone I trust."
He looked at me and nodded. "That makes sense. Do you have
someone in mind."
"I did, but he might not be as bright as I'd thought he was."
Daniel was laughing so hard he fell out of his chair.
Wyatt looked from me, back to Daniel, then his head snapped back
to me, and you could see the little bulb over his head light up.
"ME!?!"
Daniel was rolling on the floor, and I was afraid he was going
to hurt himself.
Wyatt has passed over the offer. He's already enrolled for next
semester, and he has classes all week. He doesn't like to take
8am classes, so he would have to get out of school on M/W/F and
head straight to work - barely time to eat, much less do
homework or anything. He'd have to take T/Th as his days off,
and he prefers having a weekend day off to hang out and relax,
so he'd have to give that up.
I might have pushed him a bit - he has a small scholarship, but
he'd make more money from the management position than he'd
loose (and I know his parents are a bit worried about money,
since both his brothers will be in high school next year.
However, he's majoring in some computer-related field, and he
stands to eventually make a lot more money in that than he would
as a retail manager.
I've thought about it a bit since then. I could offer him the
manager's spot as a part-time position, but I don't think that
would be good for either of us. On the other hand, since the
store's opening 1 July, I might increase his training in the
next few weeks, and ask him to run it as a favor for me for a
few weeks, and just give him some bonus pay for the time he's
doing it until school starts.
#Post#: 6383--------------------------------------------------
Re: Wyatt Jones (19)
By: Zyngaru Date: June 13, 2018, 8:48 am
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It's a shame and yet not at the same time, that he isn't taking
the manager's position. You just have to respect a guy who has
his goals set and sticks to the plan. I am sure your show of
trust and respect for him in offering the position, means more
than words can express to him. It is funny how he didn't get
the idea that you were offering the job to him, but then again,
that just shows how focused he is on his schooling. ;)
#Post#: 6384--------------------------------------------------
Re: Wyatt Jones (19)
By: Jack Date: June 13, 2018, 10:47 am
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Actually, if you know Wyatt, it's really not that surprising.
He was borderline ADHD as a kid, and while he didn't need meds,
and while he did outgrow most of the symptoms, he does still
have a tendency to hyperfocus - if he really gets into
something, like playing a game, reading a book, or... listening
to a story, then that's his entire world, and he won't notice if
a bomb is going off, and he won't try to jump ahead and guess
the end. I'm pretty sure that's what actually happened - which
makes it no less funny.
Even though it's hurting me a bit (at least making things harder
for me), I fully support him staying in school in this
situation. I had hoped he might be able to work his schedule a
bit - maybe take all his classes on MWF, and be willing to work
a 36-hour schedule As it is, Wyatt's a close friend - both of
mine and with a number of my kids - and I want him to do what's
best for him.
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