The Joys and Pains of Life Author:Joe Griffin Joe Griffin was born in the Mississippi Delta’s “Home of the Blues,” Clarksdale, MS, to educators. He is a lover of sports and accomplished his childhood dream of playing college basketball. As a youngster, poetry and basketball were “mind-easers.” His love for poetry was adopted in the sixth grade, and eventually, basketball scholarships paid f... more »or his English degrees with honors at Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, MS, and at Belhaven College in Jackson, MS. He has a master’s degree in education from Delta State University in Cleveland, MS, and has an administrative certification. Currently he is working toward a specialist’s degree in educational leadership at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. Griffin is a former English teacher, former assistant coach on a state championship basketball team, former head coach, former assistant principal, and now a junior high school principal. He has a beautiful wife, Jenecy, and two boys, Joezon, 10, and Jayden, 1. His poetry is based on life’s emotions and covers a variety of topics that most people can empathize or identify with. It tells a story of hard work, determination, pain, love, happiness, etc., wrapped up in one package. Life’s journeys take us all over the world, but we must remain focused on what is truly important. Poetry is the focus tool that Griffin says, “Keeps me within bounds with all mankind through the different joys and pains that life may bring.”« less