Being on Stage

When I was 2 years old in 1945, dressed in my sailor suit, I literally bumped into Ethel Waters on a train to Texas. I mumbled “I’m a drunken sailor” and she told my mom “he should be on the stage”. I then mumbled “the stage leaves at 4pm”.  Her prediction was right and I spent the rest of my life “on the stage”.

 

My first audience was my family. I grew up in a family full of adults and I was their toy and source of entertainment. I was not your typical kid. I was eager to learn everything and had more than my share of musical talent, so I learned to play every musical instrument I could get my hands on. When you play music, you’re on stage. My tendency to strike up adult conversations at an early age was another venue. If you’ve ever run into a really smart beyond their years and talkative little kid, you understand what I mean. I enjoyed being entertaining. 

 

I also had a “beyond my years” sense of humor. My brother’s favorite story about me was when I was 7 years old and we were living in Queens NY. We were driving next to the harbor at dusk and the Ferries were chugging back to port.  My uncle said: “There’s a fleet of Ferries” and I said: “I didn’t even know they had a Navy”. My dad, brother and uncles couldn’t stop laughing.

 

I started my own Rock Band when I was 14. I sang and played guitar. In high school and was certainly “on stage” 3 nights a week,

 

I was recruited to join the Speech Club in “Humorous Interpretation”. My first gold medal was for using my Peter Lorre voice to recite “Wickets” by Thurber. Once again I became famous with the Speech Clubbers.

 

I was also recruited to play Sgt. Baker in “Time Limit” and instantly became a celebrity at my high school.

 

I was recruited to be in plays at St. Joseph’s Academy, the girl’s school we partnered with. I was in a lot of musicals like Oklahoma, Carousel, Cinderella and Meet Me in St. Louis. I played Pooh-bah in, The Mikado and used my irritated eccentric voice, flipped my fan and became a celebrity at St. Joe’s,

 

In college I was recruited to join the chorus in the opera Dido and Aeneas at Webster College. I filled the goat sacks for the orgy scene with Scotch to ensure that it was memorable.

 

That was my early stage career and other than being in St. George’s choir, I left the stage except for continuing as a singer and musician.

 

In high school and college, I was drawn to the smart kids and the talented kids and they reciprocated. They liked my common sense, good judgment and good humor.

 

When I graduated from college I was totally at ease “on stage” and that stage presence would be put to use as I interacted with others from there on out. My career required that I be able to interact one to one and in groups and give presentations. I also needed to “know my stuff” and get results. I was in it for the fun, so I continued to exercise my sense of humor and was fun to be around.

 

During my career, I found myself routinely giving talks, writing and chairing meetings. I was a good communicator and my colleagues continued to seek out my good judgement. I was viewed as someone who would succeed.

 

When I did succeed, I found myself in jobs others considered as a “big deal”.  I was one of a handful of executives at the companies I worked for that employees considered very influential.  I was always shocked that they saw me that way, because I tended to treat everybody the same and enjoyed everybody I worked with.

 

When I was a Kearney in 1967, I was at my desk and it was pouring down rain and it was almost lunch time. I was hard at work.  A young fellow came to my door and asked in fun if I could stop the rain. I looked at my watch and said “I’ll make it stop by noon. He smiled and left. At noon it stopped.

 

When I started at Schwan Foods in 1975, I met the Receptionist who was on my staff. She seemed a little intimidated and apologized saying she was nervous because I was a “big deal”. I looked surprised and said “I’m not a “big deal”. She smiled and said “Oh yes you are”.  

 

I was also “inner-directed” and didn’t really focus on or obsess about how others saw me. I simply treated everybody with respect and I treated everybody the same. I was never a big “hero worshiper” and didn’t read biographies of famous people.  I was in it for the fun.  I though work was fun. I was never afraid to “be myself” and that was a blessing.

 

When I left corporate life to start my own consulting practice, I felt relieved that I no longer needed to be a “big deal”.

 

I didn’t really have time to play music after 1975 but did sit in with groups occasionally.  I did cantor and direct the choir at St. Mary’s in Kansas and I wrote for Kansas Business News and the Salina Journal, so the spotlight found me again.

 

I didn’t really have time to sing in a chorus or choir after 1983, but I did sit in to sing and play music with groups in Atlanta a bit.  I also finally join the choir and at St. Jude’s from 2000 to 2010 and sang “Monteverdi’s Vespers with the Atlanta symphony chorus. We were certainly in the spotlight giving Engaged Encounter Weekends as a Team Couple from 1979 to 1995.

 

When I think about all the things I got to do, I am convinced that my early experiences “on stage” prepared me for being “in the spotlight”.

 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader