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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1986)
Friday, April 11, 1986/The Battalion/Page 5 1 ~A&M student takes custody of boy, 15 11 'Frankie can stay with me until... he gets tired of me' re spoii. ie noli. c «aii( By M. Bridgett Keough Reporter cani for; Robert Cagle isn’t your typical col lege student. He’s 21, single and try ing his hand at parenting. n f av ■ Since August, Frankie, a 15-year- jonkftd boy, has been living with Cagle. Bn December, Cagle gained power of attorney and soon expects to have uardianship. For all practical purpose^, Cagle lays, he acts as Frankie’s guardian, e can take Frankie wherever he oes, and he even attends parent- leacher conferences. Frankie tells the story of his move i recod | nt0 Cagle’s home as if he’s wonder- yjj^inghow this home is different from the other nine or 10 pseudo-homes he’s had. I Frankie explains that Cagle lived in the trailer next door to his last home. He took time to talk with gfrankie. He took him to softball antes. As their friendship grew, so id Frankie’s trust. Then one August day, Frankie lame to Cagle needing a place to jay. I Frankie had been living with a silicon pie, who were friends of rela- wllB ves fri enf l s ’ f° r five months. It was Frankie’s 10th home since his tother died when he was 8 years Id. “They told me the stove blew up,” he says. “Then, she died at the San Jhnonio Burn Center, but I don’t ■f.ffiven know where she’s buried. No- tdy will tell me.” Frankie lost not only his mother. ell US»; re wn nn Md Halter, ars .or. He alls an! friends it 's rec served j tayor. ned is fromal md theaj ith then hvays ij sprogn Cagle says he doesn’t like talking to teachers. Fortu nately, he says, he’s only had to do it once. but also his younger brother and sis ter— his family. His brother and sister were adopted, he says, and he hasn’t seen them since their mother’s death. “Someday I’m going to Houston and find them,” Frankie says. Living with relatives has never worked out, Frankie says, and he really doesn’t know why. But living with Cagle, he says, has been different. “He just seems to understand me,” Frankie says. “He understands when I get into trouble at school. He doesn’t jump all over my case. He doesn’t carry it on to the point where I get mad.” Cagle says he doesn’t like talking to teachers. Fortunately, he says, he’s only had to do it once. Cagle remembers the day he of fered Frankie a place to stay. “I really didn’t think he was going to take me up on the offer, but I really meant it. The next thing I knew he was moving in,” Cagle says. Cagle says his parents and friends didn’t believe him at first when he told them he was taking custody of a 15-year-old. “There was no way anyone was going to persuade me otherwise,” he says. “I already had my mind made up. “I wouldn’t have made it this far today if someone hadn’t taken me in.” Cagle knows from experience what it feels like to be looking for a home. When his step-father was hospital ized for the sixth time, Cagle says, he was kicked out of the house. The relationship had been a bitter one. “That was about the best thing that ever happened to me,” Cagle says. “Sometimes I feel like I’m giving up something I didn’t have to give up. But most times I feel like I’m gaining something. ”— Robert Cagle Cagle moved in with his grand mother and his father, who is blind. “I gained independence there and everything worked out for the best,” he says. Cagle says he helps Frankie be come more independent. He admits tension existed between the two tra ilers after Frankie moved in with him. It bothered Frankie’s former “parents” to see Frankie given so much independence. “When I got him, we started to go different places — like rodeos and concerts,” Cagle says.“They were about to go insane. They treated Frankie like a slave. They made him clean the house and stay inside all the time.” With a grin, Cagle adds, “They’re moving today.” Frankie says he does the dishes, and Cagle cooks. “He’s (Cagle) only done the dishes once since I came,” he says. “The other people would say ‘FRANKIE GO WASH THE DISHES.’ Now, it’s ‘Frankie, when you gonna wash those dishes?’ ” Cagle admits he lives life at a slower pace. “Sometimes I feel like I’m giving up something I didn’t have to give up,” Cagle says. “But most times I feel like I’m gaining something.” Cagle, a Kilgore native, plans to graduate in December 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. He says he hopes to join the Peace Corps and to work in South America. Frankie has four years of high school to complete, he says, before he can become a fireman. Cagle says he’s willing to postpone his career plans until Frankie grad uates from high school. He says he may attend graduate school or take a job in the area. “Frankie can stay with me until he’s 18, or whenever he gets tired of me,” Cagle says. “I’m willing to stay here if he wants to graduate from Bryan High School.” low manure ad places Mark White on c poo poo’ list I AUSTIN — Fort Worth nurs- Iryman Mike Cook is using a “cow joo poo” ad to try to fertilize the :eds of political discontent against lov. Mark White. For about five years. Cook, 88, has periodically included a political mes sage in his newspaper ad among the prices for pecan trees, pansies and tomato plants. T he political message always is in the cow manure price box. “Cow poo poo,” it says. “Who the poo does Mark White think he’s kid ding when he says he hasn’t raised taxes since he was elected governor! We won’t forget when we go to vote in November. And that ain’t no poo, Markey baby.” The ad then returns to a more businesslike note: “Excellent for 1.49 spring gardens, shrubs, trees, per bag.” When notified about Cook’s ad, the White campaign took it lightly. Campaign spokesman Mark McK innon said, “The substance of the ad speaks for itself. We appreciate a good sense of humor.” > a, Tv-; t:-./ 5 a.;. a THEATRE GUIDE ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASES* t You may now’piirchasG your tickets : in Advanc^. for $iame Day showings ’ vAi Avoid disappointments sellouts and line-ups “■ Plitt Information 846-6714 . ■ Vi's* SfEVEN SPIELBERG the mOney pet * w m A richard benjamin f ,im THE MONEY PIT ALEXANDER GODUNOV MAUREEN STAPLETON ^ DAVID GILER ““WICHEL COLOMBIER -T^GORDON WILLIS. *sc MSTEVEN SPIELBERG aho DAVID GILER "’“T!FRANK MARSHALL KATHLEEN KENNEDY and ART LEVINSON "“n RICHARD BENJAMIN ^ \M8I IN PGl momi omua | •AttatAl UK* Mt M SUtTMtt fMCNKMia A UNIVERSAL Picture SKAGGS CENTER B46-6714 1 Sat/Sun 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:20 9:20 Daily 7:20 9:20 Emm I THE COMEDY WITHOUT BRAKES. Sat. Sun. 1:00 3:05 5:15 7:30 9:45 Daily 7:30 9:45 m “The creations of our mind should be a blessing, not a curse to mankind.” -Albert Einstein Daily 7:00 Sat & Sun 1:00 3:00 7:00 POST OAK MALI 7640616 COLUMBIA PICTURES HANNAH AND HER SISTERS Woody Allen \pg-™\ Daily 9:00 Sat & Sun 5:00 9:00 MW POST OM MAU. 7644616 I SKOURAS PICTURES Presents A CINEPRO/PILLSBURV Film THE QUIET EARTH" Starr,n S BRUNO LAWRENCE ALISON ROUTLEDGE PETER SMITH Director o' Pnorograpny JAMES BARTLE Editor MICHAEL HORTON Composer JOHN CHARLES Producers SAM PILLSBURY & DON REYNOLDS Director GEOFF MURPHY A SKOURAS PICTURES RELEASE 7:25 94 IN DON leki 11 ■ Bill! se y -i . .. Sat/Sun 1:50 3:50 5:50 7:50 9:50 Daily 7:50 9:50 SNAGGS CENTER 846-6714 Bfl ND OF THE MflltP HllMpi iiiiiiiiiiiii : TRI-STAR PICTURES PRESENTS A MICHAEL MANN PRODUCTION "BAND OF THE HAND" STEPHEN LANG JAMES REMAR Executive Producer MICHAEL MANN Written by LEO GAREN & JACK BARAN Produced by MICHAEL RAUCH r«»trict«d (srs> 1 Directed by PAUL MICHAEL GLASER r ( UaOfH 17 REQUIRES ACCOMPMYING I SOUNOTkACK VBUM AVAJLAflLE ON .MDt PARENT OR ADULT 6UAR0IAN ^ I) II I. M I [CL DOLBY STEREO \ Daily 7:30 9:30 Sat/Sun 1:30 3:30 5:30 7:30 9:30 RITTGRS n«w line Cmcma m Association with Smart E99 Pictures Presents a Sno Films Production irrir>3 DEC WALLACE STOnE • m. CpamET WalSh • BILLY GREEn BuSh • SCOT1 GRimES • NADINE van DER VELDE | 1 OPPER and TERREnCE mann • Director of Photography Tim SumRSTEDT • musk by David nEWman Associate Producer Sara RiShER * Screenplay by DOmOniC muiR and STEPHEN HERE* Executive Producer ROBERT Smaye • Produced bv RUPERT harvey • Directed by STEPHEN HERE* tmi tnmnttTCAtm—ia ^ 9r%m M«w UiM Cfcaacma Sat/sun 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:20 9:20 Daily 7:20 9:20 F0ST OAK MAU 764-0616 Phi Beta Chi Sorority invites all who are interested in becoming charter members of the Zeta colony at Texas A&M to come to an Ice Cream Social on the afternoon of April 13th at 4p.m. behind Mt. Aggie. For more information call Christie at 696- 7606. B X NEW •Resumes •Fliers •Brochures •Rental by hour •Run your software via LAZER •While you wait I PRINTING Open Saturday Call for appointment 696-2988 2553 S. Texas Ave Shiloh Place MSC T ravel presents £ 4 Whoop! Saturday, April 12 Rudder Theatre 3:30 p.m. Admission $1 50 Bring your parents: Tickets on sale MSC Box Office April 10 ❖ MSC LOST & FOUND AUCTION Rudder Fountain April 17 10am - 1 pm cash only CALCULATORS, SPORTS EQUIPMENT, UMBRELLAS, JEWELRY & MORE