He used to be a lot bigger.

I met him when I was editing a health and fitness section at The Herald-Sun. I'd asked him to speak to a group of readers we'd signed up for a weight-loss program.

He brought an old pair of jeans.

Or maybe it was a belt. I don't remember, but it showed how much weight he had lost.

I do remember how Teasley won the group over with his gentle, self-deprecating humor.

So when Michael Yarbrough, spokesman for the Durham Public Schools, suggested we ask him to become one of our new My View columnists, it was a no-brainer.

Teasley is the former grants administrator for the school system. But he is anything but retired. He teaches in Duke's master's of arts in teaching program, serves on the board of Full Frame festival, and just got back from Machu Picchu, Peru.

Still, when I asked the lifelong Durhamite to write a monthly column, he hesitated. That hesitation, he said moments later, was reason to do it.

"What is it that has me hesitate? That always interests me," he said. "I've got plenty of opportunities to air my opinions, just not publicly. I'm just scared enough to do it!"

Teasley's enthusiasm is infectious. He always thought he'd grow up and move away. But he began teaching -- English and drama at Southern High -- and became rooted.

"To me, it's gotten better and better to live here."

With Teasley, our My View roster stretches in age from 16 to 60. I hope that you'll find his columns inspiring, just as he inspired that audience, and me, years ago.

Thanks for reading.

EDITOR'S NOTE