I Was (And Still Am) A Teenage Drama Nerd!

No time to write my own blog entry today - I've been called in to work! - So I'll follow the leads of all the great writers and just steal material! I read this essay written by Cheryl Kravitz of Silver Spring in this morning's Washington Post - She was responding to a challenge by the Post to complete the sentence, "You know you're really a nerd when..." Here's a portion of Cheryl's response...

When I was growing up in Chicago, we lived in a blue-collar neighborhood on the South Side. It was not unusual to hear about fights at some local schools that involved things like switchblades and brass knuckles (whatever they are). This was around the time "West Side Story" hit the movie theaters, and my equally nerdy friends and I decided we were similar to the Sharks. I have no idea why, except we loved Bernardo's purple shirt and we thought Anita was cool.

Anyway, we formed a gang. We also called ourselves the Sharks and wore outfits made from our fathers' old undershirts. We drew sharks on them that looked like inebriated porpoises. One day we went to a playground with a layout similar to the one in the first scene of "West Side Story" so we could sing or dance our hearts out.

Years later, I told a colleague this story, and he shook his head in disbelief. "Are you saying you were in a gang that performed scenes from Broadway musicals?"

You can read Cheryl's entire essay here.

I can completely relate to Cheryl, because I used to, and in fact, STILL do the same kinds of silly things - especially with music. My college choir used to take over restaurants when we'd be out on tour, and sing impromptu (and often drunken) concerts on demand. I also enjoy humming or whistling the "Colonel Bogey March" in crowds, just to see if I can get others to join in!

It's the same kind of nerdiness that prompted me to create my own choir website... and also to launch "singalongs" among my friends on Facebook on a regular basis.

And I will confess that on more than one occasion, I, too have found myself stealing a dance step or two from Jerome Robbins and snapping my fingers at the sight of a barren playground.

I'm a nerd!