My Mother loved movies. Daddy, not so much. She would take me to movies. The first one I remember was "Shane". I also liked the Disney movies. When I was 11, Mother took me to see "Goldfinger". It was my first James Bond movies. I didn't understand the humor in it, but I like the action. She liked the movies and the books. She was an avid reader. She had introduced me to Beatles music, and now to James Bond movies. She and I went to every one together until the last one we went to together which was "Live and Let Die" in 1973. After that, I was on my own.
I went to the movies every chance I got. In the summertime, the theatres in Columbia would have special movies for kids. One theatre showed a Tarzan film and invited the actor Jock Mahoney to make a personal appearance. He talked to us kids after the movie and told us that the vines he swung on were actually rope covered with ivy. That revelation was crushing to me as a kid, but I understood later when making movies about illusion. Another theatre showed 10-cent and 25-cent movies for kids during the summer. Most of them were westerns.
As I grew a little older, I continued to go to the movies as much as I could. The Five Points Theatre had an art film series. They would show movies made mostly in France or Sweden. They were not X-rated in the standard of today, but they did have nudity. As a teenage suffering with puberty, it was an escape. The problem was that you had to be 18 to see these movies, and I was only 13 to 17. So, I devised a plan. I had an old Army jacket, which I used for stealing stuff. It was a heavy jacket with a Army blanket lining. I had cut the lining out at the top to make a large pocket in between the outer material and the lining. I could put record albums in the lining. I took the jacket and wrote "USC Gamecocks" on the back, thinking it would look more like a college jacket. Looking back on it now, I know it looked stupid, but I just tried to look older. I also took one of my brother's college ID's from Furman and taped my school picture on top of his. Unless you looked closely, you couldn't see the difference. It got me into several art movies, if they asked for ID. A lot of times they didn't.
I always rode my bike to the theatre. Usually, I would park it in an alley between the theatre and a drug store. Other times, I parked it behind the theatre. When I was 14, I was coming out of the theatre to get my bike, when I was attacked by 3 black boys. They threw bricks and rocks at me, as I was trying to pedal away. When I asked why, they told me that I had killed Dr. King. I told them I had never been to Memphis. They were attacking me because I was white. As I have said before, this behavior was very foreign to me. But, it didn't stop me from going to the theatre.
On one occasion, I went to see a movie, and the girl at the box office wanted to see some ID. I pulled out my fake ID, and the girl looked at my name and began to smile. She told me that my Mother was her Sunday School teacher. Well, I almost died, but she let me in to the theatre. She told me I looked young to be in college. I told her that everyone says that. I thought she would tell my Mother, but my Mother never said anything about it. Whew.
Like I said, I loved going to movies. When I worked in a bank, it was next-door to a theatre. We had two hours for lunch. Just enough time to catch a movie. When I was in college, I would go to every movie playing, sometimes more than once. When I lived in Texas, I also went to a lot of movies, usually three times a week. Then, video came out, and I started watching a lot of movies on tape, and later DVD. It is like a disease, but I love movies.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Rehearsal Dinner
I had just graduated from high school and still 17 years old. We went to a wedding in Alabama, where my father was performing it. My cousin was getting married. That Friday night, they had a rehearsal dinner at the country club in Anniston. I was seated with a bunch of girls, who were a little older than me. They knew that I couldn't drink wine, so they asked me to get my glass filled, and then they would take my glass and give me the empty one. Then, the waiter would be around and refill my glass. This happened numerous times. The girls were getting drunk. My parents looked over at me, and saw my glass was always empty. They thought I was binging. After the dinner, they asked me about it, and I told them that it wasn't me. They believed me after seeing the girls. Little did I know that I would be binging in about three years later.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Driver's License
My parents wanted me to take lessons from Baldwin's Driving School. Mr. Baldwin was a nice man, when we started, but I think I gave him a nervous condition, while he was trying to teach me. We went out to Fort Jackson for him to teach me the art of applying the gas and then the brake. I finally got the hang of it. I got pretty good over time, so he took me out on the freeway. That day, we were going down I-20 near Broad River Rd., and we got behind a lumber truck that had a board sticking out. It was going slower than we were. I asked Mr. Baldwin if I should pass the truck. I have never forgotten his answer. He said, "If you don't, we are going to die." I passed the truck. Sage words on his part.
I went to take the driving test and failed the written part. Over the next few weeks, I failed the written test 3 times before passing it on the 4th try. As for the driving test, I failed the first time, because I broke the parallel park barrier. I thought the car was in drive, but it was in reverse. When I stepped on the gas, the car lurched backwards, and I rammed into the back barrier. I looked in the mirror to see a portion of the wooden barrier falling down. I retook the test later and passed it. I think they gave me the license just to get rid of me.
Except for being a little careless with speed, I only have gotten one ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign, which I don't think was justified. It was around 10:30 one morning on a school day. It was raining. I was going through a neighborhood and saw a box lying in the road. I thought it would be fun to run over it, so I went around the block to go back to the box. I slowed at a stop sign but didn't stop. I made the right turn, and the policeman stopped me. He said that kids could have been playing out there at that time. I told the officer that I didn't think they would be out playing in the rain on a school day. I found out that you are not supposed to reason with the police, because instead of a warning, he gave me a ticket. It took a whole week, before I could muster up enough courage to tell my father. He paid it.
I have had only one wreck, and that was in 1977. I had left work to go back to my dorm, where I was going to school. It was lightly raining, and the roads were slick. I came off of the interstate too fast, and the exit ramp was very short. I put on the brakes, and they locked. I slid into the car in front of me. It did $600 of damage to my car, and 50-cents to the car that I hit. For a long time, I didn't like to drive in the rain.
Even though I haven't driven a car since 2013 (mine blew up in 2009), they tell me that I am a very safe driver. I guess practice makes perfect.
I went to take the driving test and failed the written part. Over the next few weeks, I failed the written test 3 times before passing it on the 4th try. As for the driving test, I failed the first time, because I broke the parallel park barrier. I thought the car was in drive, but it was in reverse. When I stepped on the gas, the car lurched backwards, and I rammed into the back barrier. I looked in the mirror to see a portion of the wooden barrier falling down. I retook the test later and passed it. I think they gave me the license just to get rid of me.
Except for being a little careless with speed, I only have gotten one ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign, which I don't think was justified. It was around 10:30 one morning on a school day. It was raining. I was going through a neighborhood and saw a box lying in the road. I thought it would be fun to run over it, so I went around the block to go back to the box. I slowed at a stop sign but didn't stop. I made the right turn, and the policeman stopped me. He said that kids could have been playing out there at that time. I told the officer that I didn't think they would be out playing in the rain on a school day. I found out that you are not supposed to reason with the police, because instead of a warning, he gave me a ticket. It took a whole week, before I could muster up enough courage to tell my father. He paid it.
I have had only one wreck, and that was in 1977. I had left work to go back to my dorm, where I was going to school. It was lightly raining, and the roads were slick. I came off of the interstate too fast, and the exit ramp was very short. I put on the brakes, and they locked. I slid into the car in front of me. It did $600 of damage to my car, and 50-cents to the car that I hit. For a long time, I didn't like to drive in the rain.
Even though I haven't driven a car since 2013 (mine blew up in 2009), they tell me that I am a very safe driver. I guess practice makes perfect.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
SAT's
During my senior year, the pressure was incredible to get into a college. I wanted to go back to New Orleans and go to LSUNO. Or maybe Tulane. So, I took the SAT's. It was held in our gym with a whole lot of other kids. The year before, one guy got a 1596 out of 1600, and he questioned the other 4 points. They gave it to him. He went on to MIT and flunked out. So, I thought I had a shot. I just about aced the English portion of the test. After all, I was a writer, and I read a lot. But then, there was the Math. I hate Math. I always have. I did have to teach Math to myself, when I got into business and am pretty good with percentages, but at the time of taking this horrible test, I got my name right on the test, but that was about it. I ended up making a 735 on my SAT's. Here was this genius guy who didn't make enough to get into USC on an athletic scholarship, even though I didn't play sports. There was no way I could get into any school.
My father stepped in and made a call to a friend, who was the president of Anderson College. Daddy's grandfather had been one of the first trustees of that school many years before. It was a Baptist-funded school, so some strings were pulled, and I got into Anderson College. It was a junior college at the time which helped. Otherwise, that guidance counselor of mine, who had said the only thing I could do was to be an auto mechanic, was right. Not to put down auto mechanics, but I had higher goals. AC was coming toward me.
My father stepped in and made a call to a friend, who was the president of Anderson College. Daddy's grandfather had been one of the first trustees of that school many years before. It was a Baptist-funded school, so some strings were pulled, and I got into Anderson College. It was a junior college at the time which helped. Otherwise, that guidance counselor of mine, who had said the only thing I could do was to be an auto mechanic, was right. Not to put down auto mechanics, but I had higher goals. AC was coming toward me.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Swimming
When I was around 5, we were staying at a motel in Oxford, Alabama. It probably was around the time of my grandfather's funeral. My father and I were in the swimming pool, while my Mother was in the room. I couldn't swim. The phone rang at the room, and my Mother called out to Daddy to come to the phone. He left me in the pool. I was walking around the shallow end, and then I decided to walk toward the diving board, not knowing there was also a deep end. I slid under the water. A man grabbed me by the hair and pulled me out of the pool. I do not know who the man was, other than I think he was in the military. My parents rushed out of the motel room to find me on the side of the pool. They thanked the man and wanted to give him a reward, but he declined. God knows who he is, and He put the man there that day at that time.
After that experience, I was scared the water. Daddy tried to teach me to swim. We would be in a pool, and he would tell me to jump in the water, and he would catch me. I would do what he said, and he would move out of the way to see if I would swim. I wouldn't. I lost trust in him catching me, so I decided that swimming was not something I could do.
When I was 14, my parents decided to send me to USC to learn how to swim. I took weekly classes one summer at the pool behind Longstreet Theatre on the USC campus. I was the oldest kid in the class. The others were between 6 and 10. I lied to some kids about my age, because they laughed about me being bigger than anyone else. I learned how to dog paddle, but I couldn't master the art of turning my head to breathe, so I didn't go very far in the class. The instructors wanted us to learn how to dive. The low diving board was not a problem, although I wasn't very keen on doing anything more than just jumping in the water. But then came the high platform. Climbing the ladder was like going to an execution. I was coaxed by the instructors to jump off of the platform. I did and went to the bottom of the pool. The idea was the swim up to the ladder by the pool after going into the water. I got disoriented and couldn't find the side of the pool. One of the instructors had to dive in and save me.
After that experience, I decided that swimming was not important. I have been in the water since then but always on a flotation device like an air mattress. No more deep ends for me.
After that experience, I was scared the water. Daddy tried to teach me to swim. We would be in a pool, and he would tell me to jump in the water, and he would catch me. I would do what he said, and he would move out of the way to see if I would swim. I wouldn't. I lost trust in him catching me, so I decided that swimming was not something I could do.
When I was 14, my parents decided to send me to USC to learn how to swim. I took weekly classes one summer at the pool behind Longstreet Theatre on the USC campus. I was the oldest kid in the class. The others were between 6 and 10. I lied to some kids about my age, because they laughed about me being bigger than anyone else. I learned how to dog paddle, but I couldn't master the art of turning my head to breathe, so I didn't go very far in the class. The instructors wanted us to learn how to dive. The low diving board was not a problem, although I wasn't very keen on doing anything more than just jumping in the water. But then came the high platform. Climbing the ladder was like going to an execution. I was coaxed by the instructors to jump off of the platform. I did and went to the bottom of the pool. The idea was the swim up to the ladder by the pool after going into the water. I got disoriented and couldn't find the side of the pool. One of the instructors had to dive in and save me.
After that experience, I decided that swimming was not important. I have been in the water since then but always on a flotation device like an air mattress. No more deep ends for me.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Camp Greenville
When I was around 14 and 15, my parents sent me to Camp Greenville, which was a YMCA camp near the SC/NC border in the mountains. Some boys stayed for the whole summer. I just stayed for a week. There was swimming, hiking, camping, sports, and other activities. I couldn't swim, so I had to do the other stuff. We stayed in huts with tin roofs. When it rained, it sounded like machine guns everywhere. They have one of the tallest waterfalls in North America there, and it was fun to play around it.
We went camping overnight there and stayed in tents. I slept very soundly that night. A mountain lion came through the camp and apparently scratched the tent right by my head. I heard nothing. They said the counselor fired a rifle to scare the cat away. I slept right through it. I really can't tell you that it actually happened, but everyone there swore it did.
There was one kid who could throw a baseball from the outfield like a laser and hit the catcher behind home plate. It was amazing. He was from Florida, but I don't remember his name. He should have played in the majors.
The head man there was an old man named Monk. He knew everything. I remember him telling us that if a car runs over a snake, 90% of the time it will run over the snake's head. Why? Because snakes strike at moving objects, so it goes after the tires. So, the car runs over the head. Funny how some things stick with you. I also remember him telling us not to step over a log. Step on top of the log and see what is on the other side before going on. You never know what is on the other side like a snake.
The last day of the week for us was Sunday. We went to the camp's outdoor chapel, which was called "Pretty Place". And it was. It was built on a cliff which overlooked the valley below with mountains rising up on three sides. We were there around 6am for the service. While we were there, the sun was coming up and fog was in the valley. I saw 3 golden buildings with one in the middle taller than the other two. I thought I was dreaming, so I pinched myself and found I wasn't dreaming. So, I thought it was a mirage and rubbed my eyes, but it was still there. So, I turned around and then turned back, and it was still there. I did not know of any close by cities that would be reflected by the sun like that, as Brevard was the closest town, and they didn't have tall buildings. Greenville was in the opposite direction. I realized that I was having a vision of Heaven, which scared me even more, because Daddy and Mother were coming to pick me up that afternoon to take me home down the winding roads of the mountains, and I thought we were going to have a wreck and die. I didn't tell anyone about what I had seen, but I was in awe. When my parents came to pick me up, I was terrified in the back seat of the car the whole way home, but we got home without any problems. I pulled out a map to see if there was anywhere that could have produced the golden buildings, but there were none. I firmly believe that I had a vision of Heaven. About 5 years later, I had another vision, which I will talk about later. I know there are skeptics about this, but it did happen to me.
We went camping overnight there and stayed in tents. I slept very soundly that night. A mountain lion came through the camp and apparently scratched the tent right by my head. I heard nothing. They said the counselor fired a rifle to scare the cat away. I slept right through it. I really can't tell you that it actually happened, but everyone there swore it did.
There was one kid who could throw a baseball from the outfield like a laser and hit the catcher behind home plate. It was amazing. He was from Florida, but I don't remember his name. He should have played in the majors.
The head man there was an old man named Monk. He knew everything. I remember him telling us that if a car runs over a snake, 90% of the time it will run over the snake's head. Why? Because snakes strike at moving objects, so it goes after the tires. So, the car runs over the head. Funny how some things stick with you. I also remember him telling us not to step over a log. Step on top of the log and see what is on the other side before going on. You never know what is on the other side like a snake.
The last day of the week for us was Sunday. We went to the camp's outdoor chapel, which was called "Pretty Place". And it was. It was built on a cliff which overlooked the valley below with mountains rising up on three sides. We were there around 6am for the service. While we were there, the sun was coming up and fog was in the valley. I saw 3 golden buildings with one in the middle taller than the other two. I thought I was dreaming, so I pinched myself and found I wasn't dreaming. So, I thought it was a mirage and rubbed my eyes, but it was still there. So, I turned around and then turned back, and it was still there. I did not know of any close by cities that would be reflected by the sun like that, as Brevard was the closest town, and they didn't have tall buildings. Greenville was in the opposite direction. I realized that I was having a vision of Heaven, which scared me even more, because Daddy and Mother were coming to pick me up that afternoon to take me home down the winding roads of the mountains, and I thought we were going to have a wreck and die. I didn't tell anyone about what I had seen, but I was in awe. When my parents came to pick me up, I was terrified in the back seat of the car the whole way home, but we got home without any problems. I pulled out a map to see if there was anywhere that could have produced the golden buildings, but there were none. I firmly believe that I had a vision of Heaven. About 5 years later, I had another vision, which I will talk about later. I know there are skeptics about this, but it did happen to me.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
The Drama Bug
Things were getting better for me. I had met people who wanted to be my friends, and they were. I had people telling me that I had some talent. Positive reinforcement is amazing. There was a city-wide search for high school students to take college-level drama courses at Columbia College. I applied and was accepted. Only 16 students from the Columbia area were chosen.
During the afternoons, we would go to Columbia College, which was an all-girls school, and take classes in Theatre History, Acting, Stagecraft, Costuming, etc. Each student chose a partner in our class and performed a scene. Mine was "Oklahoma", where I played Jud and died. I had to fall down a lot and developed a deep bruise on my leg. I learned to wear knee pads under my jeans. So, I learned that one could protect himself from injury and still look believable. At the end of the semester, we put on a one-act play called "The Cave Dwellers". I played the mute boy, and I had to show love for the lead girl with my eyes. It was like doing mime and was very challenging. I also tried method acting, which I didn't much enjoy, but I wanted to play the part to the hilt. My first scene had to show that I had been chased by a policeman, so he and I ran around downstairs from the stage to get out of breath, and then we came on stage sweating and breathing hard. The others were amazed in our character development. The drama bug bit me that semester. I didn't know how hard it bit until later.
One interesting note from all of this at Columbia College: the directors of the Theatre were the Eakers. Catherine and Gene. About ten years later, I would be asked to perform in a play (which I will talk about later), as well as judging high school students in Speech and Drama. They really started me on my way and saw I had some talent. Thanks, guys.
While this was going on at Columbia College, I had gotten a little attention from my peers for being one of 16 area high school kids in this program, so when the announcement at Flora that they were going to have a senior play, it was just natural for me to be in it. They announced the auditions, and I went out for it. I wasn't cast. It turned out the parts had already been cast before the auditions, but they had to have the auditions to look like they were doing things right. It was clearly wrong, whether I got a part or not. There is one thing about me that has carried me through life--be fair.
During Christmas of 1970, my church was putting on a Christmas play with the Youth doing the parts. I was cast as a disciple. I was supposed to say one short line, and then James was to speak. I got nervous and proceeded to summarize the entire play while on stage. The other actors looked at me funny, and then I realized what I was doing and stopped and told James to speak. The audience never knew the difference. That bit of improvisation would help me greatly 3 years later.
During the afternoons, we would go to Columbia College, which was an all-girls school, and take classes in Theatre History, Acting, Stagecraft, Costuming, etc. Each student chose a partner in our class and performed a scene. Mine was "Oklahoma", where I played Jud and died. I had to fall down a lot and developed a deep bruise on my leg. I learned to wear knee pads under my jeans. So, I learned that one could protect himself from injury and still look believable. At the end of the semester, we put on a one-act play called "The Cave Dwellers". I played the mute boy, and I had to show love for the lead girl with my eyes. It was like doing mime and was very challenging. I also tried method acting, which I didn't much enjoy, but I wanted to play the part to the hilt. My first scene had to show that I had been chased by a policeman, so he and I ran around downstairs from the stage to get out of breath, and then we came on stage sweating and breathing hard. The others were amazed in our character development. The drama bug bit me that semester. I didn't know how hard it bit until later.
One interesting note from all of this at Columbia College: the directors of the Theatre were the Eakers. Catherine and Gene. About ten years later, I would be asked to perform in a play (which I will talk about later), as well as judging high school students in Speech and Drama. They really started me on my way and saw I had some talent. Thanks, guys.
While this was going on at Columbia College, I had gotten a little attention from my peers for being one of 16 area high school kids in this program, so when the announcement at Flora that they were going to have a senior play, it was just natural for me to be in it. They announced the auditions, and I went out for it. I wasn't cast. It turned out the parts had already been cast before the auditions, but they had to have the auditions to look like they were doing things right. It was clearly wrong, whether I got a part or not. There is one thing about me that has carried me through life--be fair.
During Christmas of 1970, my church was putting on a Christmas play with the Youth doing the parts. I was cast as a disciple. I was supposed to say one short line, and then James was to speak. I got nervous and proceeded to summarize the entire play while on stage. The other actors looked at me funny, and then I realized what I was doing and stopped and told James to speak. The audience never knew the difference. That bit of improvisation would help me greatly 3 years later.
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