Early Talents

When I was 5, there was this cereal called OK. Yogi Bear was the spokesperson. I wrote a TV commercial for the cereal and typed it on my father's Royal typewriter. It had to do with Brand X, Brand Y and OK. We sent it in to the cereal company. They said I showed talent and to come back in 18 years. OK Cereal went away. In the 4th grade, I wrote a song called "People". The tune was pretty close to "Listen People" by Herman's Hermits which came out 3 months after I wrote my song. I suppose I could have sued, but what does a kid know? Also, when I was 5, I did my first acting job--a Christmas play at the public library. I played a wise man. My 2nd acting job was in 4th grade. It was the school's Christmas play. I was a wise man, and the only one with lines. Do you see a trend developing? Writing? Acting? I found that writing and acting were means to escape from the troubles at school. Van Gogh was a hero of mine. He didn't get famous until after he died. So, I was a very prolific writer, figuring that I would die and then become famous. There were a few of us in high school that formed a writer's club. A lot of good stuff came out of that time. I was also a member of the National Forensic League in high school. We did debates and model Congresses between schools. My first debate was in 10th grade. It was about health care. We were from Flora, and we were debating a team from Dreher. During the question and answer portion of the debate, they asked me if our plan wasn't already "inherent in the system". I didn't know what "inherent" meant. I looked at my debate partner, and he looked blankly at me, as he didn't know what it meant either. So, all I could say was that I didn't know. We lost the debate, but I made a vow after that. Never go into a debate without a dictionary. Never go into a debate without being prepared. And most of all, as in chess, anticpate all possible retaliations. I never lost a debate after that. I was moved to model Congresses and Model UN's. I won several awards for public speaking. I was good and very much the attack dog. My extreme shyness went away, at least for a time. While in high school, Columbia College was wanting to expose high school students to college-level drama classes. They picked 16 high school kids from around Columbia for the program, and I was one of the chosen. I guess they saw some talent. For six weeks, we took classes after school in acting and theatre history. At the end of the program, we put on a play called "The Cave Dwellers". I played a deaf mute that got the girl in the end. I was very shy around girls in real life. In fact, I never even had a date until I was 17. So, this play really helped me with that. I also had to learn how to act with my eyes and gestures. It was the real beginning of a love of the Theatre. Thanks, Mrs. Eaker.