...Then there was Me. Born much later, when Mom and Dad were 40, and not anywhere near as talented in sports or music as my brothers, I wasted a lot of time trying to be "them." This is not to say that I was not happy. I used what they had taught me to have success in drama, student government and to some degree in sports. Being born into that family was a wonderful gift from life, but because I kept comparing myself with them, my self-confidence was below "see level."
However, one night my whole life changed in 45 minutes. I had come home early from a party where hardly anyone had noticed I was there, except for a couple of times when I made a fool of myself trying to get attention. Like George Gobel once said about himself on The Tonight Show, "I felt like the whole world was a tuxedo and I was a pair of brown shoes." (Or I felt like a duck trying to get the attention of swans.)
I walked into the living room where my mother was peacefully seated in front of a nice warm fire with our German Shepard lying at her feet.
Using that maternal radar mothers have, she sensed my real mood despite my smiling face. Knowing I couldn't fool her, I broke down and told her of my frustration in trying to keep up with the frantic pace of my family and how empty I felt after leaving the party for an hour, to discover when I returned that nobody had even noticed that I was gone.
She gave a gentle laugh, leaned back in her chair and told me a story that knocked me out of my socks.
"I know exactly how you feel," she said. "When I was on the road, I traveled with my best friend, Bea Wilson, who was a funnier, prettier and much more talented woman than I was. Every time we went to a party, people just flocked around her and pretty much ignored me."
I shook my head, trying to imagine this woman who was always the center of attention at any gathering being ignored. It seemed an impossible task.
"I'm really having trouble visualizing this, Mom," I said. "Many of my former class-mates with whom I have lost contact still stay in touch with you. My friends that came by, sometimes came just to see you. In fact, two girls have told me that if they could have had you for a mother-in-law, they would have put up with having me as a husband!"
"Well, everything changed for me in one night," she replied. "It was a really big party celebrating the new season. Bea was glorying in her element and as usual, I was off by myself sitting on a couch.
"At the other end of the couch sat a young woman who looked lonelier than I felt. I decided that maybe I could make sure there was one less miserable person at the party, so I scooted over and introduced myself. As we talked, she revealed she was a stamp collector and started sharing her experiences. At first, I was uneasy and felt that I was going to be bored and lonely. But as she talked, I became fascinated as she related the countless legends and mysteries associated with stamps. She explained why some stamps were valued in the millions and had me enthralled with tales of some of the great art thefts. The longer she talked, the more people there were who drifted over until she was surrounded by a circle of interested listeners.
"At the end of the evening, as we were all saying goodnights, she hugged me and thanked me for being responsible for the most enjoyable evening of her life.
"Later that night, I couldn't sleep, trying to figure out just what it was I had done. Basically, all I had done was... Continue
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