It's important for voters to know who I really am. Where do I come from, not just geographically, but in life? What have I been through? How did I get where I am today? What in my background has made me the man that I have become? Why should voters trust me to be the kind of Congressman they want?

I was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi. But I have lived and worked in Minden, Louisiana for 25 years. I tell folks that I can't help not being born in Louisiana and that I got over here as quickly as I could!

My dad was a farm boy. He was in the Army in WWII, actually got drafted while he was still in high school. After his military service, he got his GED. My dad went to work for the power company as a lineman. He was injured in a fall from a pole so that was the end of being a lineman. The company trained him to become a power substation operator, and that is what he did for the remainder of his life. Unfortunately, my dad passed away suddenly, when I was just seventeen, and his death greatly impacted my mom, my brother and sister, and me.

My mom's childhood was far from ideal. She grew up in an abusive, alcoholic home. Right after she graduated from high school, she went to work as a telephone operator.

When they got married, the young Fleming couple, later to be my parents, joined the hard-working middle-class. They depended on two paychecks as they sought after the American Dream. That's just like most people do today.

I was born in 1951. My parents then lived in an old wooden apartment that was quite small. But, when I was five years old, my dad got a loan, bought a classic 1950s ranch-style house that was just 1100 square feet, and we moved to our new home. That house cost a whopping $9,000.

Later on, due to a disability, my mom had to quit work. So my dad worked extra jobs to pay the bills and get a little bit ahead financially.

My parents had two more children, a little sister and little brother to me. The Fleming kids went to the local public schools. As a kid, my favorite subject in school was science.

When I was about 11 years old, I got interested in someday becoming a doctor. Part of that was more than my love of science; it was because my grandmother, a licensed practical nurse, told a lot of cool "hospital stories."

I knew that in order to become a doctor I would have to study hard and make good grades. I laid plans to become the first member of the family to go to college.

As a high school senior, I applied for college, and got busy applying for loans to help pay for school, because my dad certainly could not underwrite 100% of my college education. Even if he could have done so, I wouldn't have felt right about letting him.

Life, as you know, comes with lots of surprises. Things happen that will change our lives and our plans. A startling, and life-altering surprise of the negative kind came my way on the night of May 15, 1969.

It was just a couple of weeks before my high school graduation. I'm still not sure exactly what woke me up that late night. Perhaps, even in a deep sleep, I heard the doorbell. Maybe it was the low-pitched murmur of a man talking to my mom out in the hallway.

Still half-asleep I was not alarmed at first, but as I began to listen more to tune into what was going on, it startled me that my mom was talking to a policeman. They were talking about somebody having died.

Now more awake than asleep, I thought maybe my sweet, elderly grandmother must have died. Then I heard mom refer to "him." Hearing that, I jumped out of bed.

My dad suddenly and unexpectedly died of a heart attack while working out of town. He was only 43 years old. My dad was gone forever. And my life changed.

I deeply loved and respected my dad. Any 17 year-old is going to be grief-stricken by the death of a parent, and I was no exception. Shock, grief, and fear came in like a flood. Then over the next few days came an aching emptiness.

May 15, 1969, I was soon to discover, marked not only the day my dad died, but the day that I, as the oldest son, was confronted with a new reality – "man of the house."

With a disabled mom, a 13 year-old sister, and a 5 year-old brother, what would I do? What would be the source of our family income? How could I pay the bills? Would I need to forget about college and go to work? What work could I find? You can imagine the thoughts that raced through my 17 year-old mind amidst the deluge of emotion that comes with losing a parent.

Of course, I thought that my dream of going to college and someday becoming a doctor might be now be impossible. How in the world would I have time to go to college, if I was working? Even if I could go on to college, how could I pay for it?

Within a short time after my dad's funeral, I found that no matter how I felt I had to answer these questions. I prayed to God for His help with my family's future and mine.

I hand-wrote a letter to the University of Mississippi's Financial Aid Department explaining to them my new circumstances. Days later, still dealing with the aftermath of my dad's death, and having to get ready for my high school final exams and graduation, I had no idea how that letter would be received.

One day while in class, I was called to the school office. Walking down there, I was wondering what this was about. It was a phone call from Mr. Martin the head of the Financial Aid at Ole Miss. He said, "John, we got your letter and let me tell you that you should not worry about a single thing! Your grades are excellent, you have great letters of recommendation and we have a special budget for sudden financial reversal situations like yours." A feeling of warmth and relief passed through me. God had heard my prayers and had delivered me from my fears!

College would not begin for three months.  I had a little time to prepare my family for the future and myself for college. Things were tough financially. It would take a while for my dad's Social Security survivor's checks to start coming and for funds from his life insurance policy to arrive. All we had was a small check from my mother's disability.

We were forced to turn to the local assistance agency for help. That was a humbling experience! They gave us basic food items for our shelves. I still remember how odd it was to see peanut butter in a large, metal, generic can rather than a jar.

By the time I left for college in late August, with the Social Security benefits and money from dad's life insurance, our family was getting "back on its feet." But life without a father and with a disabled mother meant continuing challenges. Even with financial aid for college, I still worked minimum wage, manual labor jobs in the summers and part- time jobs while in college and later in med school.

Working and going to medical school was a challenge-physically, mentally, and emotionally. It wasn't easy. But it was a valuable experience. It made me a better human being.

After medical school I entered the U.S. Navy. I was proud to serve my country.

During my time in the Navy, I completed a three year medical residency toward Board Certification in Family Practice. Then I served three more years on active duty. Nearing the completion of six years as a Navy Medical Officer, it was time to plan for a future in civilian life. That's when I became aware of Minden, Louisiana.

I wanted to open a medical office in a small All-American type town that would be a good place to raise a family. I wanted it to be near a larger city. A consultant who helps doctors locate good places to practice introduced me to Minden. When Cindy and I came to visit, we immediately knew it was just the right place.

Twenty-five years later, everyone in the Fleming family is glad the consultant told me about Minden!

When my family and I came to Minden in 1982, I had a very small bank account. My office was a small rented space. Within three months the Lord had blessed me with a fast-growing practice. I realized that very soon I would need to take on a partner and build a new office. But I didn't have much money, nor did I have a solid financial track-record. So banks turned me down for loans for such a venture.  Finally, one of the local bank presidents, Don Moore, decided to take a chance on me and lent me the money to build and equip a 6,000 square foot building in 1983. Twenty-four years later, it's still the home of my medical offices.

Banker Don Moore insisted that if he was going to help me with financing to accommodate my construction project and growth in business, that I must learn good business principles. Frankly, this is an area that many doctors neglect, because they are so focused on medicine. I took Don's advice very seriously. It has helped me both in my medical practice and in several non-medical business opportunities.

Don helped me realize that as my medical practice grew, with careful planning, attention to detail, and by hiring good people, I could succeed in other businesses.

Today everyone knows what a Subway is. It's a great sandwich! In 1986 when I brought the first Subway store to Northeast Louisiana, no one knew. But we hung in there, followed our plan, served good food at a good price, and the business grew.

We own 30 Subways in our part of the state.

Fleming Expansions is a sub-franchisor for The UPS Store, a subsidiary of UPS.
We are responsible for 130 UPS Stores across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Success is not a one-man show. There is no such thing as a self-made man.

I've come a long, long way from that little bitty apartment where I spent my first five years of life and from that 1100 square foot house back in Meridian. But I haven't gotten where I am today by myself. And I haven't forgotten the lessons learned a long the way.

I haven't forgotten eating Peanut Butter from surplus commodities cans.

It's the hard things in life that make us better. It's remembering not having, that makes us appreciate what we have.

With the devoted and loving help of my wife, Cindy, the loyalty of many good employees, the support of wonderful friends, and with considerable hard-work and risk-taking on my part, the Lord has blessed me with a good measure of prosperity. Every day I give thanks to God for what He has done for me. As a Christian, I try to be a good steward of my blessings and to in turn be a blessing to others.

Cindy and I are the parents of four children. We have two girls and two boys. The youngest son has now joined his older brother in college. We are proud of each of them. They are fine young people. As parents, we have always tried to lead by example. One of the things that we have made sure to teach is that life is a lot more than material things. We have repeatedly told our kids that money and material things can be gone in an instant. Security isn't found in money and possessions.

Security begins with faith in God.