SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE RESTORATION SPECIALIST

Is there a certain chapter or section of the book you feel strongest about or closest to?

The chapter based on what the title is about, chapter 12. It’s about narrowing down what we can directly influence. In our lives there is a ‘ring of influence’ and a ‘ring of concern.’

What does that mean?

What you can actually influence is what you should focus on. Teachers and everybody live inside the realm of concern. Instead of worrying about what you don’t have control over, worry about things like your local government and your neighborhood. Worry about where you live.

What happens if you can’t help but feel concerned?

Sometimes you just need to refocus a lot of your efforts, and the ring of influence will get bigger and bigger.

What reactions have you received?

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People really like it, but some people said they wanted more. They wanted me to expand on my chapters. They said it reads exactly like I sound. There’s a typo in here and I like that. Because it’s personal and genuine.

Are you still writing? Are you content?

I am content with the book. I’d like to talk more to people about it. Like when I’m invited to speak. I enjoy talking to groups when they have questions. I’ve done a couple of those, and it’s been people who’ve read the book and have questions about it good or bad. I don’t want to write anymore, though.

If anybody could take one thing away from what you wrote, what do you want that to be?

Really, there are no excuses. I really like that whole attitude, and in the book I tell you how I got it. One day, in the military, we were on a run and the first sergeant comes and runs with us. One mile passes, then two, then three, then at four guys start falling out to catch their breath. I do the same. The first sergeant asks the one man, ‘Why did you fall out?’ and he says it’s because he felt sick that morning. He asks the next guy and he says it’s because he didn’t get to eat the night before. By the time he got to me, I figured it out. I said, ‘I don’t have an excuse, First Sergeant.’ I literally took that from that day forward. If you can think it, it can be done. I said, let’s just teach that to the kids. There is no excuse if you take out all the cons.

—Monica S. Nagy

“NARROW IT DOWN” is available at amazon.com for $8.99. Read more about David Bates and his work in the school and community, and watch our Marsh Middle School military museum and ROTC videos at advocatemag.com SEARCH: David Bates

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Have lunch … at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center as part of the North Texas Food Bank’s 14th annual Empty Bowls event on Friday, March 1. Pay $35 in advance or $40 at the door and eat a lunch of soup, bread and dessert provided by local restaurants. At the end of your lunch, take home a bowl hand-crafted by a local artisan. “No bowl” tickets are available for $25, and VIP tickets, which offer early entry at 10:30 a.m., cost $100. All proceeds go to the food bank’s mission of eliminating hunger in North Texas. Tickets are available at ntfb.org.

Have Dinner … at Edison’s from 6:30 p.m. to midnight March 2. The $50 per person event is a part of the Friends of Hillcrest/Franklin’s “Our children, our community, our future” live and silent auctions to raise money for school programs, including the mock trial team, theater and newspaper classes. Make a check out to “Friends of HHS/FMS”and mail to: Patti Thompson, 5843 Willow Lane, Dallas, Texas, 75230; or pay online at hillcrestdallas.org under “Announcements.”

KNOW OF WAYS that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@advocatemag.com.