Wayne

Name:

Wayne Faust

Hometown:

I was born in Iowa city, but moved to Chapel Hill at around 2, so I
consider this my home.

What is the most moving experience you've ever had while volunteering?

I don't specifically recall a single "moving" experience helping, but I
think a lot of that is due to the fact that I've been in many of the same
situations as those I've helped. I've stayed at abused women’s shelters and
homeless shelters, so I in some way can easily identify with how things are
for those in need. I do think that there have been a few times when having
conversations with some of the young men I used to coach in basketball that
it really brought home the differences between the "haves" and "have nots".
I don't mean that in a strictly economic sense either- not having a father
figure, or any reasonable adult figure. Not having a support system, those
types of things are very hard to see.

What is the best prank you've ever played?

While it may not seem like it, I don't really pull pranks on others so
much as make fun of myself to make others laugh. Two instances that come to
mind were a) dressing as a Hooters Girl at the Tropicana hotel and casino
in Atlantic City a few summers ago. It was for a bachelor party scavenger
hunt, and that just so happened to garner the most points, so I went for
it. If you can imagine a 6'5, rail thin, pasty white guy in hooters shorts,
t- shirt and sneakers walking through the middle of a casino, that's me.
Heads were literally turning, all eyes on me and of course our entire party is laughing their tails off the whole time. We walked through the main
floor, and made our way to the Hooters on the boardwalk. I ended up trying
to serve a few customers before the manager told me that was a bit too far,
and politely asked me to stop while simultaneously trying to hold himself back from busting out laughing. The table next to us was full of 10 or 11
guys who would be perfect for a spot on "Jersey Shore" . They
didn't appreciate me too much, but they couldn't do anything about it. I
think that they were jealous of all the attention I was getting from the
ladies, but I'll never know. In any case, our group headed down the
boardwalk, and got laughs the whole way. I honestly can't remember a more
enjoyable experience than that... In terms of laughter, a close second
would be when I decided to "safety-test" a bottle of spray mace I had
bought my girlfriend at the time. I worked at a car audio sales and
installation shop, and during my lunch break I told my boss (who just so
happens to be the bachelor from the story above) to spray me in the face,
to make sure it was effective. I didn't want my girlfriend to spray someone
and only end up pissing them off, so I figured this was a good idea. Mike
refused at first, but finally gave in. We headed outside, and it just so
happened that pretty much the entire staff of the motorcycle shop next door
was outside having lunch, so they were there to bear witness to the event.
Mike goes to spray me, and this measly little stream comes out, nowhere
near my face. so I tell him to try again, and the same thing happens. At
this point I'm like "screw it", and I rub my mace-soaked shirt in my eyes.
BAD IDEA.... I proceeded to jump around like my face was on fire, and
screamed at the top of my lungs "I IMMEDIATELY REGRET THIS DECISION!!!!!"
Everyone lost it... I mean everyone. There were at least 6 people rolling
around on the ground crying there eyes out (including me... albeit for a
different reason). Like I said... not really pranks, but good times none
the less.

If you were allowed to address the troops at a massive USO event what would you say?

I'd tell them to keep up what they're doing. It might seem like much of
America is against you right now but when it comes down to it, you have
already shown that you are better men (and women) than most... it takes a
truly special person to do what you do.

What is the best advice you've ever been given?

I would have to say the very best advice I've been given is "charity
comes with no strings attached”… sometimes I think It’s hard for people to remove expectations when they lend a hand, be it to a friend or a complete stranger. It might seem like a trivial thing in some people’s eyes, but it has helped me out tremendously throughout my life.

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Wayne told me I could use any picture of him that I liked from his Facebook, and even gave me permission to use the aforementioned Hooters photos. While they are hilarious, this blog is PG-13 so I decided to use something with a little more fabric involved.

Wayne is a complicated man and certainly someone that you want to have on your team. He gets the job done (when he feels like it). I remember once telling Wayne that he could do anything he wanted but dress like a chicken. Big mistake. I came to work one day and someone said, " I just saw a giant chicken walk down the hall." I thought, "Oh no." When I got to class, sho nuff, there was a chicken sitting in the back of the room. You don't tell Wayne that he can't do something unless you really want him to do it, whether that be dressing like a chicken or bringing pizza to the projects.

I think that "charity should have no strings attached" is good advice to everyone. I don't want to get into the habit of posting song lyrics on here, because putting song lyrics on your blog is so emo, and I'm too old to be emo anymore. So I'm going to post the YouTube video and you can just listen very carefully.