I made a $50 bet -- a lot of money then -- with my coach that I'd win a medal. read more

I made a $50 bet -- a lot of money then -- with my coach that I'd win a medal. I woke up that morning and thought, 'don't get to the bottom and wish you had a second chance, because in the Olympics, you don't get a second chance.' I was so in the moment; I wanted to feel it, I wanted to be in it -- I've used that metaphor for the rest of my life.

When I arrived in London 11 years ago, restaurant service was terrible. It's getting better every year. Americans tend to read more

When I arrived in London 11 years ago, restaurant service was terrible. It's getting better every year. Americans tend to be over-the-top about complaining.

Situations in low-rated schools like Jasper (County) are very frustrating, ... We spend an awful lot of money training people read more

Situations in low-rated schools like Jasper (County) are very frustrating, ... We spend an awful lot of money training people and developing them in these underperforming schools, but at the end of the year, these teachers are taking the training and experience and moving on to better districts.

This is an Arab city living in a unique moment in history.

This is an Arab city living in a unique moment in history.

The Youth Volunteer Corps has helped us for about five years and we really depend on them to tackle big, read more

The Youth Volunteer Corps has helped us for about five years and we really depend on them to tackle big, physical projects.

I'm good at reading people.

I'm good at reading people.

Our distributed support and security system was failing.

Our distributed support and security system was failing.

It is encouraging to see a kid come up and do what he doing. He's got five home runs. That's read more

It is encouraging to see a kid come up and do what he doing. He's got five home runs. That's more than the starting eight combined. You watch him in batting practice, and you know he is a special kind of hitter.

Everybody remembers Ironton in its heyday in the '40s and '50s, that's when Ironton was booming and we've gone downhill, read more

Everybody remembers Ironton in its heyday in the '40s and '50s, that's when Ironton was booming and we've gone downhill, and we have, we've hit rock bottom, ... But if we all don't stand together, we're not going to stand back up. It's going to take all of us to put it back on track.