Chapter 14

That night I continued to read about acting. It appeared that it was more work than I ever imagined. One point the author made over and over that any acting project whether it was a play, a movie or TV show it was a team effort. The actor is the focal point of the audience, but the actor is only part of the equation.

It took the whole team to make it happen and as such the actor should treat their fellow workers with respect. This made so much sense I didn’t see why he even mentioned it once much less keep repeating it. I had spent time on a movie set, but it was with real professionals like John Wayne, maybe they weren’t all like him.

Sunday was my last day to see Cheryl. I saw her in church and we decided that we would say goodbye to the roadside rest near the radio station. It was halfway between our houses and we would be alone but in a public setting. We didn’t discuss why we wanted it to be public.

We met after lunch at the rest area. We sat at a picnic table and talked for a long while. There really wasn’t much for us to talk about anymore. We rehashed the great desk theft. She apologized again for not being there to help with the punishment.

Her parents were making her sweep out the house and wash the baseboards as her punishment. She would have been helping anyway so it wasn’t that bad. They wanted to leave the place spotless for the next occupant. At the level, her Dad was now it was as much perception as reality. He would be getting his Star next week and the family was really looking forward to it.

I was finding out that in the upper ranks it took all the family playing their parts to be successful. One bad move by a child could ruin the chances of a promotion. I just thought I had to behave myself!

Finally, we had no more to say. We kissed goodbye. It turned out to be more than I thought it would. It went from a kiss to passion. We both drew back and looked at each other. Her eyes were as big as saucers.

I unsteadily said, “I think we had better stop.”

She nodded yes, but then we clung to each other for the longest time. We kissed again and parted. I walked about fifty feet and turned to watch her walk away. She was looking back at me. We both waved and turned again. I think I turned quick enough that she didn’t see the tears.

Monday it was light snow, the sort that wouldn’t stick. I was able to run, but I can’t say I enjoyed it. I prefer warmth and sunshine to snow and cold weather. I think college will be someplace warm. Even though we were Ohio State fans didn’t mean I wanted to suffer through any more Ohio winters if I could avoid them.

Maybe I could do a movie in California every winter? This was a nice dream anyway.

This was the week of semester exams. I had most of mine on Monday and Tuesday, nothing on Wednesday, Latin on Thursday and nothing on Friday. It would be an easy week for me. We would be going to San Toy, Ohio on Wednesday. I was anxious to see what a ghost town looked like. I had seen them in the movies, but never in real life. I bet it would be spooky.

My Eagle ceremony was on Saturday, and I had to pack for California on Sunday.

The first thing at breakfast Mum and Dad wanted to talk about was my trip to California. It was not as simple as I thought. I had to have a source of funds while I was in California.

Unbeknownst to me, the studio had been talking to Dad. My studio checks would be deposited in the Bank of America, it had been arranged with a branch near my apartment in Hollywood for me to be able to draw out two hundred dollars a week in cash.

This was news to me, an apartment in Hollywood! I had given no thoughts as to where I would live while filming. The studio had. I wouldn’t be the first child actor they had used. As Mum called him I would have a minder out there. He would be the head stunt man for the movie by the name of Dick Wyman.

He would have my power of attorney for any illness or medical emergency I might have while in California. My apartment would be next door to him. Part of his job was to make certain I got to work and back each day. He would be paid extra to make certain that I received the support I needed and did what I was supposed to. There went my immediate thoughts of Hollywood parties and young starlets. From party animal to boring in sixty seconds!

Actually, when I thought about it, which I hadn’t till now, I’m glad that people were watching out for me. I had never really lived on my own. My cooking skills were limited. My interest in doing laundry and house cleaning was non-existent, so I had given them no thought at all.

My test schedule for today was from 8:00 to 10:00 Algebra, 1:00 to 3:00 Biology. Tuesday was 10:00 to 12:00 English, 1:00 to 3:00 World History, finally on Thursday 10:00 to 12:00 for Latin. From past examinations, I knew that I would take no more than one and a half hours for each exam and that would include going over everything twice.

Dad had been kind enough to write a note about my picking up trash for one hour after school every day. Since we wanted to go to San Toy on Wednesday he offered my services from 10:00 to 12:00 today. Then 8:00 to 10:00 Tuesday, Thursday 1:00 to 3:00 and ending up with 8:00 to 12:00 on Friday.

I pointed out this was ten hours, instead of the five the school required. He reminded me of the policy at our house, whatever punishment you got at school beyond detention you got again at home.