A glance at Roger Jones' upper arm illustrates how his mother, Melody, has impacted his life.
By BRIAN SUMERS
Published December 18, 2005
CRYSTAL RIVER - She worked two jobs to support him, so when Roger Jones wanted to thank his mother, he chose something permanent.
As long as he lives, Jones will wear an image of Melody Jones, a vibrant woman in her mid 40s, on his left arm. He could have just asked the tattoo artist to write "MOM," but that wasn't good enough.
Not for the woman who spent days as a health room attendant at Citrus Springs Elementary School and nights as a cashier at Home Depot. A single mom, Melody could have put her two kids on a budget and only worked one job, but she couldn't say no to them.
Melody gladly paid the fees for uniforms and extras, but because she worked so much, she often missed basketball games. Most of the other parents always were there.
"You want to try to keep them in the lifestyle they are accustomed to," Melody said. "I worked so they could do the things I did when I grew up."
Now, for the first time in years, she can watch her son, a senior, play. Melody decided she couldn't miss Roger's final season, so she left her Home Depot job.
Her income has dropped, but Melody says it has been worth it. She gets to yell "that's my boy" when Roger makes a good play and saw him score 18, a career high, recently against Citrus.
"I promised him I wouldn't miss anything," Melody said. "I would be the team mom if I had to be."
As they reach adulthood, her children - Roger, now 18, and Megan, 20, a soon-to-be mother herself - are grateful.
"She's all I've got," Roger said quietly outside Crystal River's gym. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to play sports."
He knows he isn't a superstar basketball player, but the game is his first love, though he excels at track. He reached the Class 2A championships last year in the 4x400, but is a role player on the basketball court.
"I don't put down any sick dunks," he said. "But I'm a good shooter. I hustle."
Basketball provided comfort when Jones went to court in August after being charged with marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded no contest to both and was sentenced to six months probation and 75 hours of community service, according to county court records.
He says the paraphernalia - a Mountain Dew can with marijuana residue - belonged to a friend who also was in the car. Jones never went to jail, but was briefly handcuffed and sat in the back of a Crystal River police car.
To meet his commitment, Jones worked at the Crystal River Indian Mounds, where he cleaned bathrooms and cleared brush and trails. He did not enjoy it much, but Melody told him the work would build character.
As he worked, Jones promised he would devote himself to basketball and change his social life. He says he has made new friends, ones less likely to get him into trouble.
The new Roger even asks his mother not to cook with poppy seeds, because they might show up on a drug test.
He has not played in a Tuesday night game - he attends mandatory drug awareness classes that night - but is otherwise a full-fledged member of the team.
Though Jones is talented enough to start, he usually has come of the bench. Coach Tony Stukes doesn't wish to punish Jones, but said it is tough to reward a player who cannot play or practice on Tuesdays.
Still, Stukes has seen a change in the shooting guard's mentality.
"His attitude is better," he said. "I think the whole situation has made him grow up."
* * *
On a recent school day, Jones sported baggy jeans and a black leather jacket, along with some stubble on his chin and a circular silver earring. Jones might not look like the typical model student, but teachers and administrators say they have been impressed with him.
Every day after fourth period, he helps science teacher Rachael Haines put chairs on top of her classroom desks. All the students are supposed to assist, but Jones is one of the only ones who does.
Haines has watched Jones swim with manatees and put together an aquarium as part of his classwork. Swimming with the animals was an optional excursion, but Jones jumped right in.
"Roger makes a point of pitching in," Haines said. "He's polite and a sweet kid."
Once, Jones wanted to attend college, but he said his criminal record likely will make that impossible, at least in the near future. He turned 18 just 25 days before the marijuana incident, so it always will be on his record.
Jones has moved on, but Melody wishes he had fought the charges. At first, she believed pleading no contest was her son's only option. Now she says he should have pleaded innocent.
"I would have done anything," she said. "I would have taken care of it so it wouldn't be on his record."
Instead of college, Jones says he will join the military.
He wants to go into the Marines or the Army. Melody thinks he'll be safer by joining the Coast Guard..
When Roger leaves, perhaps as soon as this summer, Melody plans to marry her long-time boyfriend. She might have done it earlier, but she didn't think it was fair while her son was still in high school.
His father, Roger Sr., lives in Ohio, and Jones sees him about once or twice a year. Though he loves his mother, he misses his dad. His parents got divorced in 1998.
Roger Jones Sr. has never seen his son play varsity basketball. Time is running out, but maybe someday he will.
"That would be a good thing," Roger said, before pausing. "I wouldn't know what to say. It probably wouldn't happen, but that would be awesome."
For now, Roger is content with his mother's love. He relishes seeing her at every game.
Though Melody questioned the tattoo at first, she says she is impressed her son actually went through with it.
She knows it is still a work in progress - Roger must go to the tattoo parlor occasionally to get it touched up - and she's looking forward to the final product.
"It kind of looks like I've been beaten up," she said. "But it looks like they're not finished with it."
