Dr. McKinney taught mathematics, having earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph. D. after 20 years in the USMC, attaining the rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant (E9). Like most 18 year-olds, I thought I knew it all, and assumed that this retired 'jar head' probably ran his home like a military base, had bare-handed grizzly bear wrestling for a hobby, was a 'gun nut', etc. .
One of the very nice things about attending a small, liberal-arts college is that most of them encourage a degree of social intimacy between faculty and students. Professors customarily invited small groups of students to their homes on Sunday evenings for dinner, because the dining halls were closed (and pizza does get old). One November evening, I was invited to the McKinney's home for Sunday evening dinner, and it was an eye-opening experience that taught me a lesson about making assumptions, or stereotyping people.
The McKinney's home was clean, but 'comfortably rumpled'. Dr. McKinney was clearly the 'lesser of two equals' at home, but not at all distressed by the fact. He was also a connoisseur of fine wines, as we found out at dinner, loved classical music and opera, and his hobby-- no, his passion-- was toy trains. He also was a vigorous proponent of 'gun control': "If you want to own a weapon and kill someone, join the Corps!'.
Semper fi, Dr. McKinney, and a hearty 'Ooh rah' for Austin Turner!
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