For a lot of chubby kids like me, school days were horrible.
I hear stories about how they were taunted, bullied or just hated. I didn’t experience any of those things. People didn’t think bad about me. Most people just didn’t think about me at all. So, now when I meet the women who ignored me when I was I kid, it isn’t so bad. They have nothing to say about me, good or bad, because I was practically invisible or at least lost in the shadow of my older, slimmer, popular, athletic brother Albert.
Being nearly invisible was the perfect training ground for becoming a D.J. Even though I was the lead in the singing group The DuPonts, who later became known as The Commodores, I have never had a problem being behind the microphone where my audience couldn’t see me because that’s how I’d spent the majority of my childhood: Talking, dancing, laughing and with nobody watching. I learned to entertain, amuse and sometimes even date myself.
I had a lot of time to think and imagine and dream big things. A lot of them came true. So, to the fine and not-so-fine women who never gave me a second look, or even a first look in some cases, there are no hard feelings at all. In fact, I should thank them for a lot of my success.
This morning on the big show, we will talk about what it’s like to go from “zero to hero.” I’ll tell you one thing: It’s a lot better than going from hero to zero, and haven’t we seen that happen? People who rose to their peak in high school have way more pressure than those who peaked at age 35. There was a time when you could grow up, leave town and unless you wanted to, never had to face the people you went to school with again. But now with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, every day is like a class reunion.
The “For Real, For Real” poll asks would you reconnect with someone who rejected you back in the day? I want to know your thoughts. Holla at me on Facebook, Twitter or text me at 646464 (OhOhOh). I want to hear from you, whether you ignored me back in the day or not!
