The smell of the multi-purpose room… !!! I mean the whole story was fabulous and God I loved Fame (movie and show) and your feelings resonate with mine and so many others…. But the line about the multi-purpose room is golden truth.
Thanks for noticing that line about the smell of the multi-purpose room, Sue! Yeah, those school multi-purpose rooms hosted such varied activities. They seemed to operate from some fourth dimension.
Thank you. My changing voice at the time of the seventh grade talent show wasn't a fatal blow, but it did leave a mark. My mother insists that the voice cracks would've been worse the following fall during my Bar Mitzvah. I insist that I would've gladly absorbed Great Aunt Rose's tsk tsks than a year of the Brady Bunch "Time to Change" mockingly hurled in my direction by my fellow students for weeks afterwards.
The half-life of the Brady Bunch on the cultural relevance-o-meter may not be long, but don't miss the Johnny Bravo episode. An early major label/manufactured pop sendup with enough bite to let you know the writers knew how the sausage was made.
Before I answer your question, I would like to thank you again for this post. It gave me...well, it gave me a lot.
I haven't thought about that talent show in ages. My guitar skills were suboptimal at best. With a lot of hard work and practice, I'd managed to elevate them all the way to "suck." *BUT* I had good comedic timing. So I picked a childhood favorite from my father's deep bench of hootenanny albums: The Limeliters' performance of "Max Goolis" from their 'Our Men in San Francisco' album (RCA, 1962). It's a send-up of John Henry about a street cleaner that's mostly wry dialogue, interspersed with occasional chords (which I managed) and minimal singing (which I did not).
How and why I (or anyone) thought this was a good idea remains one of life's great mysteries.
That's a wonderfully insightful piece, Michelle, and it resonated deeply with me. Like you, I was lopsided in those aptitude tests delivered in my middle school. School record in verbal skills, 7th percentile in spatial relations and something called "mechanical reasoning". I remember the guidance counselor asking me, "Son, didn't you ever want to take something apart and put it back together?" (No, I didn't).
I was a video producer in one of my various careers, and had the occasion to do a series of documentaries on the gifted ed program in Vancouver elementary schools. We interviewed many kids and their teachers, in an attempt to help other teachers in the system understand the program and the students more completely. The kids were amazing! They loved learning... certain things. Others bored them silly. And they were insightful. They disdained the material they were supposed to regurgitate without a deeper understanding of the subject.
Years later, when *everything* somehow became political, the program was cancelled. It was seen to be elitist by decision-makers, and somehow, deprived others of similar educational experiences. I lamented, and thought of the many kids who were no longer given the chance to pursue their passions.
You understand! Damn, the guidance counselor asking you if you ever wanted to take something apart and put it back together! Yeah, no, not at all. My husband, on the other hand, did exactly that with the family toaster when he was quite young. Now I ask him which storage container to use for leftovers, because my spatial reasoning isn't much better than it was at 9. I'd love to see those documentaries on gifted ed in Vancouver.
The follow-up question from the guidance counsellor went like this:
"What work does your father do?"
"He repairs watches."
A lengthy silence followed.
Alas, the gifted ed videos were produced in S-VHS in the 80's and were never digitized. They are gathering dust in a box somewhere in storage, or de-cluttered away.
there is something really great about your writing.. you touch on a lot of bases that are really important to people... kudos!
The smell of the multi-purpose room… !!! I mean the whole story was fabulous and God I loved Fame (movie and show) and your feelings resonate with mine and so many others…. But the line about the multi-purpose room is golden truth.
Thanks for noticing that line about the smell of the multi-purpose room, Sue! Yeah, those school multi-purpose rooms hosted such varied activities. They seemed to operate from some fourth dimension.
Wow, I really loved this one Michelle and also needed it. Thank you.
Thanks for reading it, Brian, and for being the kind of person who needs a piece of writing. Happy summer!
Yes, I've always been fascinated by the how, where and when of the unlocking of particular puzzles and then where it delivers us.
Thank you. My changing voice at the time of the seventh grade talent show wasn't a fatal blow, but it did leave a mark. My mother insists that the voice cracks would've been worse the following fall during my Bar Mitzvah. I insist that I would've gladly absorbed Great Aunt Rose's tsk tsks than a year of the Brady Bunch "Time to Change" mockingly hurled in my direction by my fellow students for weeks afterwards.
I'd never seen "Time to Change." Now, thanks to your mean classmates, I have. But what did you sing at the seventh-grade talent show?
The half-life of the Brady Bunch on the cultural relevance-o-meter may not be long, but don't miss the Johnny Bravo episode. An early major label/manufactured pop sendup with enough bite to let you know the writers knew how the sausage was made.
Before I answer your question, I would like to thank you again for this post. It gave me...well, it gave me a lot.
I haven't thought about that talent show in ages. My guitar skills were suboptimal at best. With a lot of hard work and practice, I'd managed to elevate them all the way to "suck." *BUT* I had good comedic timing. So I picked a childhood favorite from my father's deep bench of hootenanny albums: The Limeliters' performance of "Max Goolis" from their 'Our Men in San Francisco' album (RCA, 1962). It's a send-up of John Henry about a street cleaner that's mostly wry dialogue, interspersed with occasional chords (which I managed) and minimal singing (which I did not).
How and why I (or anyone) thought this was a good idea remains one of life's great mysteries.
You had me at “I need you out of my hair.” Beautiful piece.
Thanks for reading, Jon. Hope you're having a great summer.
Glad I finally figured out that you have a Substack! I'll have to check out some of your other offerings.
That's a wonderfully insightful piece, Michelle, and it resonated deeply with me. Like you, I was lopsided in those aptitude tests delivered in my middle school. School record in verbal skills, 7th percentile in spatial relations and something called "mechanical reasoning". I remember the guidance counselor asking me, "Son, didn't you ever want to take something apart and put it back together?" (No, I didn't).
I was a video producer in one of my various careers, and had the occasion to do a series of documentaries on the gifted ed program in Vancouver elementary schools. We interviewed many kids and their teachers, in an attempt to help other teachers in the system understand the program and the students more completely. The kids were amazing! They loved learning... certain things. Others bored them silly. And they were insightful. They disdained the material they were supposed to regurgitate without a deeper understanding of the subject.
Years later, when *everything* somehow became political, the program was cancelled. It was seen to be elitist by decision-makers, and somehow, deprived others of similar educational experiences. I lamented, and thought of the many kids who were no longer given the chance to pursue their passions.
Great writing, Michelle - thanks!
You understand! Damn, the guidance counselor asking you if you ever wanted to take something apart and put it back together! Yeah, no, not at all. My husband, on the other hand, did exactly that with the family toaster when he was quite young. Now I ask him which storage container to use for leftovers, because my spatial reasoning isn't much better than it was at 9. I'd love to see those documentaries on gifted ed in Vancouver.
The follow-up question from the guidance counsellor went like this:
"What work does your father do?"
"He repairs watches."
A lengthy silence followed.
Alas, the gifted ed videos were produced in S-VHS in the 80's and were never digitized. They are gathering dust in a box somewhere in storage, or de-cluttered away.
He repairs watches! Hilarious and relatable. My absolute lack of mechanical ability mystified people who knew I was being raised on a farm.
Gotta love that Kansas farm girl!
Many don't love the Kansas farm girl . . . so I give them more Bennington woman. ;-)