main index Narrative
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In lieu of a traditional biographical section, I thought I'd use this space to share an inspirational story with you all. Back in college, I had a friend who spent his time between semesters as a freelance children's entertainer. Usually, he would wind up amusing kids at summer camps, day cares and small community events. One day, however, he randomly got a call from the state government asking him if he would do a show at a juvenile detention center. The show didn't start off well to say the least. First of all, he had a true captive audience. The kids were forced to be there, and initially determined not to only to not have fun, but also to make the experience as bad as possible for their entertainer. Secondly, not all of the audience members were in his usual, no older than 10 demographic. A handful of the kids were 13 and 14, and even more hostile than the rest. Also, he wasn't allowed to bring in any of his usual props because even in a juvenile detention ceter, they have strict contraband rules. For lack of any better idea... he tried the Hokey Pokey. At first, no one paid attention. Then, all of a sudden, one of the 13 year olds stepped forward, grinned, and started doing the dance. Left foot in, left foot out, shake it all about. He even got some of the other kids involved. While my friend still couldn't call it a good performance, he certainly ended on a high note and avoided getting lynched by a pack of hostile kids. The truly amazing thing though, is that 13 year old who did the Hokey Pokey got my friend's contact info a year after that performance. For whatever reason, he just wanted to let him know that he was out of the detention center, his grades had improved and he had even started a summer job mowing lawns. So, it's true what they say... you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around! Exaggeration17A is a male troper in his late 20's who currently lives in Maryland, and is very glad to be out of New England, even if his wife isn't. His username is derived in part from being nicknamed after title 17-A of Maine state law. Sounds strange, but truth is sometimes Freakier Than Fiction. He also has a son, so he now knows more than he ever cared to about the Disney Channel's morning block of kids' shows. He insists that he should get his son hooked on something more interesting, like Firefly, but his wife thinks a show where a man gets kicked into a spaceship's running engine is not "age appropriate". He may or may not work for The Government. If he did, it's quite possible that he wouldn't be at liberty to confirm or deny that fact. It's also possible that he doesn't, and is just messing with everyone by propagating this rumor. What an asshole! Pretend this is a clever heading to introduce media I like: MOVIES  Remember, kids— to be a true badass, you have to die first!
VIDEO GAMES  If you love Tali'Zorah, chances are this guy is your best friend, too.
TELEVISION  You can do all kinds of crazy crap with action figures!
EVERYTHING ELSE  I'm a weird snake. Isn't that sad and depressing?
Pages I Made Significant Contributions to: Got your nose!
My Liveblogs:
And now, the tropes section (feel free to add your own!):
VANDALISM SECTION! Any fellow tropers who wish to leave friendly and/or snarky comments may feel free to do so in this space. Or, if you prefer not to feel free, that's fine. The state of New Hampshire may have issued an authoritarian ultimatum on that point, but I'm certainly not going to.
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