The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 55, Ed. 1, Wednesday, April 26, 1989 Page: 3 of 6
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Optimist
Volume 77 Number 55 Page 3
Wednesday April 26 1989
Adventuresome
Features
Ehil Lewis had a closet full of out-of-date
ties about three years ago.
"It was just one of those free
moments of association and I said
'You know I ought to do some-
thing with those'" Lewis says with something
close to the Cheshire Cat's grin. "So I did."
He cut them apart sewed them together and
gave his mother wife and mother-in-law each an
apron for Mother's Day. "Marilyn thought that I
was having a mid-life crisis and needed therapy"
Lewis says about his wife who has an office on
the same floor of the Mabee Business Building.
In Lewis' office small figures carved from
wood are placed arbitrarily on the shelves and an
earth-toned diamond-shaped rug hangs on his
wall. The various collectibles he's brought home
from places such as Haiti Jamaica and Mexico
show an emerging artistic appreciation in Lewis.
"He really does so much more than he ever us-
ed to do. I told him he's outgrowing me"
Marilyn says. "He didn't ever listen to good
music or eat good food like green peas or
cheese" she recalls. The couple celebrated their
25th wedding anniversary Dec. 16 1988. "He
likes good music now. He likes rock 'n' roll and
he even recorded the Big Bopper the other day."
Marilyn says she didn't realize how smart her
husband was when she met him during her
freshman year at ACU. "I just saw how big his
shoulders were and thought he was cute because
he was a foot taller than me."
She shakes her head and laughs as she
remembers an English class they took at the same
time. "I always thought I was pretty smart and
then he made an A and I made a B" she says. "I
was really hacked." And his intellectual
endeavors did not cease at the college level.
With five books published Lewis is in the pro-
cess of finishing two more. He's completed seven
of eight chapters for a book about leadership and
strategy in the church called The Best Team on
the Bench.
Lewis says the title comes from a comment a
friend made about his intramural basketball team.
The friend told him that he and some of his
teammates weren't getting to play in the games
so they quit and formed a new team. The new
team later defeated its former teammates.
"He made the comment that he's always be-
lieved the best team is on the bench" Lewis
recalls.
He stares thoughtfully as if remembering the
college friend's story in detail. The blonde in the
blue-striped button-down dress shirt does not
limit his writing to textbooks or the chalkboard of
his Administrative Policies class. Lewis has been
writing poetry for several years but he says a
month ago he would have never wanted his poet-
ry published.
"But Marilyn has been encouraging me forever
to send them off" he says smiling. So he mailed .
two poems to the National Arts Society recently.
"I don't know how to describe my poetry"
Lewis says thoughtfully. "I probably use it as
just a way to get to some of my inner feelings.
Instead of verbalizing them in a group I write
them to myself."
I L ewis keeps many of these poems to
T I himself and enjoys making up songs
I I I in his head. "I've written two or
I I three songs that are just fun for me
I " 1 to have written with no purpose or
meaning."
He smiles as he remembers a song he wrote
when he was stranded in Detroit because of a
rain storm. "I'll never make a living at it" he
says as he stretches back and laughs.
Marilyn says her husband for many years
wanted to make a living in some field other than
teaching. "He wanted to manage a men's
clothing store" she recalls. "And look what
we're doing now he's managing a depart-
ment." But managing a department hasn't changed
Lewis' ability to remain amiable and easy going.
Lana Stephens a student worker in the Depart-
ment of Management Sciences says Lewis is a
good listener who is "very on top of things."
"He's just real laid back" Stephens comments.
"He's real trusting of us to get the job done."
Marilyn cites Lewis' own trustworthiness and
dependability as part of her husband's "being
self-directed."
She compares her mate's stability to a rock and
emphasizes his ability to mix work and family
successfully. "He wrote those books with Brook
and Blair hanging on his neck and sitting in his
lap" she says. "He doesn't have to go. hide in an
office. He's always done it within the confines of
the home and he's never griped about it."
Lewis admits that he sees a much greater need
for sharing responsibilities in the home than he
did 25 years ago. He believes he's more concern-
ed about how family members interact with one
another. "My roles and expectations of myself as
a man have changed" he says.
Jobs in the Lewis house slowly have been
divided among family members. Lewis now
Renewall
IIIBaB iHflfli all ' "rfilMr lImMS rnflH 43nH1BBJi
I w BHLi ' K'bbHb I s iflBEBB$ Hiiiii- BBf JlliiilLiS'iMifaL w Bs
Books line Lewis' office in the Mabee Business Building. With five books of his own already published he is working on two more.
cooks breakfast each morning and cleans up after
evening meals. "I can load a dishwasher as well
as anybody so I try to do that to give her more
free time" Lewis says of his wife.
A new endeavor has occupied much of Lewis'
own free time: training for a 10K race. He says
he found the training schedule in a book and his
day now begins at 5: 15 a.m. with running.
"Most people don't have an appreciation for
darkness" he says jokingly.
Lewis says he spends most of his running time
in meditation and eventually in prayer "thanking
God mostly for letting me make the distance" he
says with a grin.
The business professor also prays for his stu-
dents and the last day of class before finals is a
special time for him. "I discuss what I would
hope for them what I would wish for them in
their lives."
Amy Figgins and Beth Cordner students of
Lewis wish they could have met him before their
senior year. "He just is genuinely concerned
about us" Cordner says. "I think he has a deep
love for students."
Lewis says "While they're reading The Wall
Street Journal and Business Week and Fortune
they shouldn't neglect the reading of the Bible."
Figgins says she doesn't think of Lewis as a
typical business professor. "He gets on a real
personal level with his students" she says.
Lewis' son Brook tends to agree that his fa-
ther is a personable business professor. The
junior finance major says his father is "very
managerial minded." Brook says his father has
wanted him to always do his best but has "never
been all that iron-fisted."
Brook says the newest change in his 6-foot-3-inch
dad's life besides training for a 10K is a
white and sporty Toyota MR2. "I just thought it
was kind of funny" Brook says with a tone of
sarcasm. "Him getting in that little dinky car."
Lewis replaced a station wagon and van with the
sports car for himself and a new Buick for his
wife.
Wftndy HombaksrOptlmist
IIIHH2 ' v ' JiHHHW
lYSB BbbW y H
Lewis' decorative wall hanging a diamond-shaped rug is just
one of his artistic collectibles.
arilyn says she visualizes her
husband as being very giving
and amiable. "He laughs all
the time he's always at ease"
she says. She cites her hus-
band's "self-made" qualities
that keep him in a constant state of change.
"He's just getting more and more where he's in
control of himself" Marilyn says. "Maybe that's
just part of growing up with God."
Ml
A class taught by Dr. Henry Speck III has en-
couraged Lewis to continue growing aesthetically
and to read some of the Great Books. Marilyn
says "He said 'I'm ofTTV now; I'm not going
to be a couch potato; I'm going to read these
books.' "
She stops momentarily as if to sum up her
description in one succinct statement. "He's re-
ally exercising his mind and his body" Marilyn
says. "More self-actualization I guess." The
lanky business professor is in a perpetual phase
of renewal that is obvious to his friends family
and faculty.
And the man gives no indication of slowing
down. "I guess if there's anything I've tried to do
it's just to keep growing mentally and
spiritually" Lewis says.
And Mother's Day is always a chance for
Lewis to dig something outlandish out of his
closet and vent his creativity. by Julie Stigers
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 55, Ed. 1, Wednesday, April 26, 1989, newspaper, April 26, 1989; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101518/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.