A Batavia man, 44-year-old Glenbard North High School English teacher Jim Rodgers, has just published a book called The Old Guy Rules, which recounts his life as a single father after his wife left him with two small children, the lessons he learned, and how he applies them now that his children are grown and he is officially an “Old Guy.”
Rodgers, a former All-American and Hall of Fame football player at Eureka College, the Illinois alma mater of former President Ronald Reagan, recently signed a contract to publish his book with Small Dogma Publishing, a firm based in Lakeland, Florida. The book was released as an ebook on April 14th and as a paperback on July 30th. In addition to telling his story, Rodgers wrote the book so that others could benefit from what he learned from the experience. “My wife just walked away from an eight-year marriage and our small children so she could party out in California, and I was left to pick up the pieces.”
The book is written as a series of “rules” that Rodgers has applied to his own life. He believes these rules have not only helped him to survive as a single father, but to thrive and live a successful, happy life. “I always had people asking me how I do it, referring to raising two kids on my own, keeping myself in top physical condition, and getting my Master’s Degree plus an additional 45 hours at night and during the summers, while teaching full time, so I decided to write a book.” The book contains fitness and exercise tips, diet tips, time management ideas, financial tips, and even dating advice for the single parent.
“I think one of the toughest adjustments for me was getting back into the dating scene with two small children. I didn’t want to hang out in bars, and, as I discuss in the book, I had a bad experience with a blind date, so I finally turned to the Internet.
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I soon discovered that: A. I knew nothing about online dating, and B. there should be a guide on how to do this. I got burned a few times because I was too trusting of people online.”
Rodgers, who once bench pressed 500 pounds in competition while in college, also had to get creative in order to find time to work out. “When my wife first took off, I was taking Master’s courses at night after teaching all day. I’d pick up the kids from daycare, make their dinner, read to them, get their baths, and load them in the car so we could go pick up the sitter. I’d be in class from 6-10 p.m. three or four nights a week, and then I would have to grade for a couple of hours before falling in bed at around midnight. Luckily, the kids in my classes baby sat for me, and I’ll be forever grateful for what they did for me and my kids. This was several nights a week for a couple of years before I finally got my Master’s. I’d get three or four hours of sleep a night, get up at 4 a.m., and get in a quick workout with dumbbells in my little apartment bedroom before starting my day again.” Rodgers emphasizes that getting a Master’s was crucial, because it meant a boost in pay of nearly $15,000.00 a year.
“I had to survive on one income. I hated to leave the kids with sitters, especially after Shelbi, who wasn’t in school yet, had to spend the day in a daycare center, but I had no choice. I didn’t want my kids to have to live in an apartment, sharing a tiny room for the rest of their lives. My wife had ruined my credit, so I needed to save a big down payment to get us into a house.”
Rodgers and his book have been profiled on the health and fitness website SparkPeople.com, which has more than four million members. For additional information on The Old Guy Rules, contact the author at conan76@aol.com or publisher Matt Poricelli at www.smalldogma.com. The first chapter of the book may be found on the author’s website, www.theoldguyrules.com. The book is available at SmallDogma.com, the publisher’s website.
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