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I knew he was a Rhodes Scholar but I didn’t know about the rest of it. ~~~~~~~~~~ Before Kris Kristofferson ever set foot on a Nashville stage, he had already lived enough for three lifetimes. At Pomona College, he was a football star, a Golden Gloves boxer, and a standout student. A professor urged him to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship—he won, and at Oxford he discovered his passion for writing, both literature and song. When he returned to the U.S., everyone assumed he’d pursue a career in academia. Instead, Kristofferson shocked them all: he enlisted in the Army, trained as a helicopter pilot, and rose to the rank of captain. He was even offered a teaching post at West Point—but turned it down. His heart was elsewhere. He headed to Nashville, where he scraped by as a janitor and odd-job worker while writing songs no one seemed to hear. Until Johnny Cash recorded “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” That one song changed everything, opening the door to one of the most unique careers in American music history. Kris Kristofferson is still with us today, a living testament to how many different lives one man can live—and how courage sometimes means walking away from certainty to chase what you love. #AmericanOriginal #MusicLegend ~Old Photo Club