Cross: I had a meeting and I told them what I expect from them and I told them, “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you will never be in my office. I’ll be in your classroom and checking you and seeing what you’re doing so I might just drop in any time, but if I see you have a problem, I’ll call you into my office. I’ll explain to you the problem and give you a solution and if you do that, fine. I’m going to help you all I can. I want you to be the best teacher that you can be. I want the students to get the best instructions that they can get.” That’s the premise I operate, and I said, “That’s where we stand right now.” They were just sitting there, you know. I can read people. They were sitting there saying, “I wish you try to make me do something.” So anyway, when I retired, the three oldest white teachers at Brook Hollow, they came to me and said, “We are retiring with you. You have spoiled us rotten and we can’t work under any other principal so we’re just going to retire with you.” That’s what happened at the end. I want to show you something that’s real comical, but I got to go get it. (video cuts) Cross: Got ready to retire. (camera pans to show a wooden duck) The principal that retired before me, we would, all put in ten dollars for the gift for the principal retiring. The principal that retired before me, a white principal, they gave him a three-piece luggage set. Next year, I’m retiring, and I know everybody’s putting in ten dollars. All the principals. We usually have a little party. We were at one of the principal’s house, I believe. So, they gave me a box wrapped. I unwrapped the box and pulled this duck out. You know what I’m saying? Is this it? I’m saying to myself, what is this? I don’t hunt or anything. This is what they gave me, the principal’s, for my retirement. Can you believe that? That this is what they gave me? That’s all. This duck and a box. So, I keep it on my coffee table to remind me that—and they didn’t have an explanation or anything. Just gave me this duck. Interviewer: What do you think they were trying to say? Cross: I have no idea. Something else I want—I forgot to mention that it’s really important. When I meet all these people, they just smile and they’re so glad to see me and I just smile back and, you know, just go ahead on. When these people were getting paid to work the stadium and all of that. They were working on Friday night. All the blacks football games were on Saturday night. So, that means we were working six days a week. They wouldn’t let their women work the stadium. All of our women worked the stadium. So, we had women selling tickets, women at all the gates, and all of that. They never got a penny. The whites were working on Friday night. They all got paid. Here we are just working Saturdays. Six days a week. They working five days a week. They’re getting paid. We’re not getting a penny.