Knew Them When

Back when I was doing some speaking at high schools I would often ask the students if anyone famous ever attended their school. It was usually after some thought that they presented me with the name of someone who broke some record in track and field back in the 60s, but I never heard of anyone real famous.

This makes me wonder if any famous people ever attended high school or if there aren’t quite as many famous people as we might think. Even in the 50 years of the existence of my high school the only close to famous person there was a guy who played professional baseball for about three years and then faded into obscurity.

Though it may be hard on a school that none of its students ever made their marks on fame, think of how hard it is on a school when their only famous student is infamous.

Think of it, Lee Harvey Oswald had to go to high school somewhere. Rosie O’Donnell had to go somewhere. Go down the list of criminals and national idiots and they had somewhere they called home. Do their high schools hide this mark of distinction?

There are always towns that are confused about their celebrities. Curt Cobain lived in Aberdeen, Washington. This is a town that refused a statue of Curt because they didn't want to promote what he stood for, however when you enter the town there are signs that say, "Come as You Are."