Stand Up

I hate getting up in front of people. I didn't used to. All through high school I was a cut up or clown of just obnoxious, whichever way you want to look at it, then in the USAF I would brief auditoriums full of people all the time, once with then Secretary of Defense Casper Wienberger in attendance.

I remember in English a particular book report I gave for Mrs. Arp. It was a book called "The Prevalence of Nonsense", and it is still in circulation. It was a book about... well... nonsense, or the sometimes silly things people believe, and was one of the first of the "reference" type books that were the craze in the late 60s/early 70s.

I remember a science report, a biology report, something for Miss Mize in Journalism, and something I believe for Mr. Arp in American History. I remember doing them, but I had no style. As funny as I wanted to be, I wasn't. I may have gotten a giggle from time to time, usually when I stumbled over a word, but the real laughs went to others.

Pat Lowe. Pat had a very subtle sense of humor that popped up at unexpected times. He probably didn't like being up in front of the class, but he said more in a fairly short time than I could say all period. And it was funny. But that was if he wanted to do it. If he didn't want to do it, there was no way you could make him.

Edward Watson. Edward was the closest thing to a real comedian in the class. Everybody had days they could make you laugh, Edward did it all the time. I remember a report he gave once as Paul Harvey and another time his report turned into his rendition of Guitarzan. I don't think he considered anything off limits.

Allen McNabb made faces at different people around the room during his reports and if someone laughed he would go into his teacher impression and tell them to be quiet so he could finish his report. He was also a master at mocking the teacher under his breath as he walked back to his desk and say stuff that would get him kicked out of the class, if not out of school, if the teacher actually heard him.

Kenny Parks. We would sit along the back wall of history and talk most days, and if he was called on to answer a question or come up to the front to say something, he nailed it every time. I sat there wondering how he heard it all since we talked through most of it and I had no clue what the topic or the answer was. But not him, and if he bought a book to class I didn't see him open it very often.

There were a few others I didn't have the pleasure of having class with, so I'm sure I missed out on some of their original moments. Tony Woody, Mike Littleton and Jimmy Littlefield to name a few. I don't recall a class with Mike Skinner either, but I remember him from junior high school and he could get a classroom rolling too.

I miss those days.