Matthew Terwilliger

            Have you ever really had to go? Matthew Scott Terwilliger, 16, born and raised in Roanoke County, VA did one fateful day in Floyd County. With his mother, an insurance sales-woman, and his sister Sara, 22, they took a trip to “see all the cute towns from the 1700s and visit all the stores” Terwilliger said. The day started off normal, just a family day trip, but as they were done looking at all the stores it all went downhill from there. As Terwilliger describes the restaurant, “I don’t remember the name but it was just a family owned restaurant that didn’t have much to offer”.  After eating their below average meal, they headed home when the ride took an unexpected turn for the worse.

            After Terwilliger and his family had finished their shopping and eating their lunch, headed back home when things started to get smelly from that point on. On the way home Terwilliger describes it as “the feeling you get when you know something in your stomach didn’t sit right”. When they were driving home Terwilliger began to get more and more uncomfortable by the second with the pain in his abdomen began to get unbearable. That’s when he knew what was going on. He was having a bathroom emergency but there were no bathrooms in sight inside of the car. His one and only option was to pull over at a rundown gas station and hope he could make it in time. He described the gas station as “a family owned, rundown gas station with toilets made out of wood and a smell so bad I can’t even describe it”. But he had no choice, he was having a code brown moment.  He took the bathroom key and braced himself for the disgusting bathroom and took care of business.

            As Terwilliger put it, “it was by far my most embarrassing moment and my family was not happy about it at all”. A little bit more on Matthew, his father works as a detective for Roanoke City, and he lived in Botetourt for a brief period before returning to Roanoke. He doesn’t have a job yet, but he says “I really like old people, I think they’re funny and have good stories so I would like to work in a nursing home”. He hopes one day to become a journalist and wishes to go college at William and Mary or Roanoke College. In his spare time he likes drawing and he is enrolled in Art III this year. He doesn’t have any pets, and his best friend is Mary Willa Foy and he describes her as “funny and artistic, and really dry and sarcastic so it’s a nice balance”.

By: Taylor Cundiff