David Cordero
My name is David Cordero, and my recording partner today is my mom, so I thought we talked about our volunteer service history.
Cindy Cordero
Well, I think it actually started when I was a kid. I used to stay after school and help the teacher, and my mom volunteered with PTA, so I think I got that bug. It led to volunteering with your baseball and at church and ....
David Cordero
And why? Why did you want to do it?
Cindy Cordero
Just seemed right to do, to give a little back. But I did a lot of volunteering in the classroom. I also, back at church, taught the preschoolers.
David Cordero
Yeah.
Cindy Cordero
They're 4-year-olds. Forced into it because your dad volunteered, and then I ended up doing it.
David Cordero
Doing the work.
Cindy Cordero
Yeah. He was good with that.
David Cordero
I just thought of one funny story, maybe you can relate. It was the church bazaar.
Cindy Cordero
They had this place where you could put one of your friends or your family members in jail,
David Cordero
Yeah.. And then they'd have to buy a ticket to get you out, so they could raise money that way.
David Cordero
And someone said "Your parents are in jail, and they want you to bail them out." And so I got your purse and I went running. They had all these excuses they could use to put you in jail. "There's no running!"
Cindy Cordero
So we're all in jail.
David Cordero
I think grandma was nearby. Me and Jamie were like, "Grandma, grandma!" And there's like 30 grandmas there.
Cindy Cordero
All whipping their heads around.
David Cordero
Except our grandma! She couldn't hear us.
Cindy Cordero
She was ignoring you or something, I don't know.
David Cordero
My volunteer stuff, I guess it probably started when David was started in baseball. He was in kindergarten. One time, David got a quadruple play.
Cindy Cordero
Quadruple!
David Cordero
Yeah, the bases were loaded and someone hit one in front of the plate, he grabbed it, he tagged the runner, and everyone just kept running. So he just kept tagging 'em and tagging 'em.
Cindy Cordero
They had no clue. Well, you know, if I can interrupt you,
David Cordero
Yeah.
Cindy Cordero
You actually started volunteering when your brother played baseball.
David Cordero
Oh, I forgot about that. Yes, that year, I knew it was going to be tough to make the baseball team. My dad said, "If you don't make the team, can you help me coach Jamie's team?" So, I couldn't tell if he was rooting for me to make the team or not!
The other volunteer service I wanted to mention was Utah Honor Flight. I had a friend named Bob, and he served in the US Navy World War II. He told me, "You need to go and write an article for the paper next time they do this trip." And I'm like, "I think you're right." A lot of fun. We went from World War II veterans to Korean War veterans to Vietnam. I like telling the stories, loved writing about it.
David Cordero
So actually, one question I wanted to ask you is, when you started working once Jamie and I got old enough and you started in the schools, did you expect it would turn into ....
Cindy Cordero
32 paid years?
David Cordero
32 paid years, yeah.
Cindy Cordero
Well, it actually started after I'd drop you guys off in the morning. I'd be a volunteer in your classrooms. And somebody said, "You know, you really ought to just be paid for working here." So I had a lot of good experiences between volunteering and working. I actually miss being around the smaller kids, mostly because they were so funny.
David Cordero
So when I was in fifth grade, faculty played softball against the fifth graders,
Cindy Cordero
Oh yeah.
David Cordero
And I was playing in the outfield, and my mom was up. My mom's a really good hitter, like she was ... she could hit it far.
Cindy Cordero
I was good in grade school too!
David Cordero
And she cranked one, and I kind of jumped and I caught it, and everyone's like, "Whoa - whoa, what a...!" I think when you hit it, you probably thought you were gonna have a home run.
Cindy Cordero
I probably would have if you hadn't been out in the field!
David Cordero
I love you, Mom.
Cindy Cordero
Love you too, hon.
