I was born at home on a farm. My parents were farmers and my grandparents were sharecroppers. Those long days of working on the farm from dark in the morning to dark at night taught me the value of hard work. During my last two years of high school I took on the responsibility of driving the school bus to school each day. On the farm, the church was the center of the community life and family was the core of life. Education was seen as a way to get ahead in life. My mother told me that they would sell a farm if that was required to provide money for me to go to college. On the farm a handshake of commitment was seen as binding. This is the value system in which I was brought up.