Are you confused by the fact that there are two Mr. Thomases teaching this year? The Oracle is here to help!
Who was here first?
MT: I was the first Mr. Thomas to arrive on campus, but Evan was the first teacher Mr. Thomas.
ET: I am, in fact, the original Mr. Thomas.
What class do you teach?
MT: Western Civilization and US History.
ET: Drawing/Painting and Meaning & Media.
Where are you from?
MT: I grew up in a Navy family so I was born in Mobile, Alabama, and then moved to San Diego. I lived there until the middle of 1st grade. Then I moved to St. Augustine, Florida.
ET: I was born in the Philly suburbs, West Chester, Pennsylvania. My family moved to Lancaster during my senior year of of high school. I was very upset.
Pencils! No. 2 or mechanical?
MT: No. 2. I’m a traditionalist.
ET: No. 2. But I personally use the art ones without the erasers.
What do you do in your spare time?
MT: I like to watch movies- good movies of any genre. My favorite is Joe vs the Volcano, which is about a man who finds out he has a brain tumor, so he goes off to sail and enjoy life.
ET: I love listening to music. Everything: R&B, Drake, Tame Impala.
What is your favorite breakfast cereal?
MT: Life cereal.
ET: It’s a toss-up between Honeycomb and Golden Grahams.
What did you do this summer?
MT: This summer, much like Joe, I took off in May on board a big square-rigged sailing ship called the Picton Castle. I sailed from Charleston to Bermuda, to Boston, to Prince Edward Island in Nova Scotia. I learned how to traditionally sail a square-rigged ship.
ET: I moved. I painted. I did some wedding photography. Mrs. Thomas [Blair’s new school counselor] and I started to baby-ready the apartment.
What is your favorite cartoon?
MT: F is for Family on Netflix.
ET: Nickelodeon, especially Rugrats.
What’s your secret talent?
MT: I’m really good at guessing what time it is within 5 minutes. [EDITORS’ NOTE: We have tested and verified this.]
ET: I have a few talents, but none of them are secrets.
What was your biggest fear as a kid?
MT: I was afraid of the dark.
ET: I was pretty fearless as a kid.
What were your best and worst purchases?
MT: My best purchase happened when I moved from Orlando to D.C. In Orlando, I lived with guys from my band, and it was a pigsty. So I decided I was going to rent a one-room apartment all by myself. And my worst purchase was a pair of settees, which are two-seater couches. They were the most uncomfortable things ever. Ms. Freitag made me get rid of them after we started dating.
ET: My best purchase was my first DSLR camera. And my worst purchase was a new battery for a run-down car.
Over or under for toilet paper?
MT: Over.
ET: Over.
Who is your favorite historical figure?
MT: Lord Horatio Nelson.
ET: Fredrick Douglas.
Do you have pets and what are their names?
MT: My two greyhounds are named Nellie and Dobby (yes, like Dobby from Harry Potter). When we adopted them, their foster names were Brenda and Pablo Cruise.
ET: My dog is named Riley, and he is a border collie.
What was your childhood nickname?
MT: Dude.
ET: Ev.
Apple or Android?
MT: Apple.
ET: Apple.
Did you have an imaginary friend as a child?
MT: No, but I did have a tiger floaty named Tuna.
ET: I had multiple.
What’s the worst thing you did as a kid?
MT: When I was six, my best friend Daniel’s mom had a convertible, and one day we decided we wanted to turn it into a swimming pool. We took a hose and started filling it up. His mom found us half an hour later, and I ran away and Daniel took the blame.
ET: I always had very good intentions and loved teaching people, and I to teach my sister how to ride a bike. My father taught me by letting go and running beside me. I took my sister to the top of a very steep hill, and just let her go. Good intentions though.
If you could have a superpower, what would you pick?
MT: Mind control.
ET: Teleportation.
(Copyright Oracle 2017)
