A couple weeks, a stack of French-scripted index cards and several rehearsals later, my partner and I were positioned in front of the class - she standing, and I seated, or I should say - perched - on top of a stool, dressed in yellow, as French Morris the cat - the snarky* star of the (80s-era) 9Lives cat food commercials.
The class hadn't seen it coming, and therefore, was defenseless. ☺
For me, writing and acting in that 10-minute cat food commercial spoof was (and remains) the highlight of my entire high school French career.
How had I not seen the writing on the wall?
Although I went on to take a couple more French classes in college, I never pursued the language, nor pet-industry advertising, as a career.
* The word "snark" didn't exist in the 80s.
This morning on the Today show, in a strange coincidence, there was lighthearted discussion around a British survey that asked respondents to say whether or not they are in the career that they dreamed about as a child. Unsurprisingly, only 6% said they are.
If they'd surveyed me, I'd have been in the 94% majority. I'm not a veterinarian. (Because who in her right mind - between 11-15 years old - aspires to be a French ad copy writer for pet-related brands?!) Besides, I'm pretty sure I wasn't meant to be a vet.
It can be argued, however, that I was meant to write about animals, ad-spoofing very much included. What's still not entirely clear, is whether there will ever be a "career" of it.
By the way, I was born optimistic.
So, what's the moral of this story? Well, it's this: When you find passion as a child - even if it involves talking animals and toilet humor - if you run from it, it will hunt you down and poke you like a stooge, right in both eyes. Only let it poke you once, my friends. Because a true stooge - by the second poke - has mastered the thumb-to-the-nose, sideways-hand, poke-deflecting maneuver.
In other words, don't be a stooge. ☺
And, for the record, I still get the urge to write in French sometimes. Only a little, though, because I'm way out of practice (and the last thing I need is to get shunned by grammarists in both English and French). I had one of those urges yesterday on my Facebook page (such a tolerant bunch, those Facebook peeps). If you recall, I mentioned something about Facebook in the title of this post. Surely, that means I intend to share what I wrote then, right?
Of course! Here it is. It's about Dewi and me. *runs and hides*
Still here? Yay!☺
OK, how about a vintage 9Lives, Morris the cat commercial to redirect your thoughts?!
Gosh, I love 70s and 80s pet food commercials, and Morris. ♥
Here's a fun article from BuzzFeed that claims Morris was the original Grumpy Cat. Although, I don't know that I necessarily agree with that. Morris would never agree to be a meme.
So, has anyone else circled back to a passion you left behind in childhood? Do tell!
