Spring Break
76-year-old fraternity house mom teaches ballroom dancing and sexual enlightenment
Caitlin Myers, Contributing Writer, cmyers@smu.edu
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: News
So she started dancing. On her father's feet, in the country town's one-room schoolhouse, McCurtain learned to foxtrot and two-step. By the time she was a teenager, the boys chose her over her sisters because, well, she could "dance the pants" off that one-room schoolhouse.
When she's not dancing, she substitute teaches for the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district. With what free time she has left, she enjoys writing, especially love poems and short stories. Inspiration comes from her own life, and she often wakes up in the middle of the night to jot down a new prose.
She shuffles through piles of papers and video tapes and produces a bound, cardstock calendar entitled "Alpha Males 2008."
She sells these homemade calendars for $20 a piece, with the proceeds going toward building and maintaining an orphanage that her son Monte setup in Zambia, Africa.
Inside, each month features men from 21 to 75 years old "who are successful in every area of their lives" and "above all, they know how to treat a woman." Six of her fraternity men fill the pages; the rest include dance partners, friends and family.
Junior PIKE member Clark Lundy is Mr. February. His photo is accompanied by one of McCurtain's original poems, "Tethered to Your Heart."
We can't forget about the other months, though, McCurtain points out. Junior Jonny "Red Beard" Morgans is Mr. August. Beneath his picture, McCurtain writes, "He may pirate your heart." Then, flipping back several pages, there's junior pledge brother David Dines, better known as Mr. July: "Tennis is his game; if you're a match, love is his goal," reads his description.
It's hard to imagine the stereotypical fraternity guy willingly participating in such a testament to romance. However, the PIKE men say it's the least they can do for Mom.
"She's done so much for us," Dines said. "So, we try to help her out whenever she needs us."
It is this mutual respect between a tough-love kind of mom and her sons that has kept McCurtain at the PIKE house year after year. Despite a national trend toward more male mentorship in fraternities, this chapter's members couldn't imagine their house without Mom.
When she's not dancing, she substitute teaches for the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district. With what free time she has left, she enjoys writing, especially love poems and short stories. Inspiration comes from her own life, and she often wakes up in the middle of the night to jot down a new prose.
She shuffles through piles of papers and video tapes and produces a bound, cardstock calendar entitled "Alpha Males 2008."
She sells these homemade calendars for $20 a piece, with the proceeds going toward building and maintaining an orphanage that her son Monte setup in Zambia, Africa.
Inside, each month features men from 21 to 75 years old "who are successful in every area of their lives" and "above all, they know how to treat a woman." Six of her fraternity men fill the pages; the rest include dance partners, friends and family.
Junior PIKE member Clark Lundy is Mr. February. His photo is accompanied by one of McCurtain's original poems, "Tethered to Your Heart."
We can't forget about the other months, though, McCurtain points out. Junior Jonny "Red Beard" Morgans is Mr. August. Beneath his picture, McCurtain writes, "He may pirate your heart." Then, flipping back several pages, there's junior pledge brother David Dines, better known as Mr. July: "Tennis is his game; if you're a match, love is his goal," reads his description.
It's hard to imagine the stereotypical fraternity guy willingly participating in such a testament to romance. However, the PIKE men say it's the least they can do for Mom.
"She's done so much for us," Dines said. "So, we try to help her out whenever she needs us."
It is this mutual respect between a tough-love kind of mom and her sons that has kept McCurtain at the PIKE house year after year. Despite a national trend toward more male mentorship in fraternities, this chapter's members couldn't imagine their house without Mom.
Be the first to comment on this story