Posts Tagged ‘faux pas’
Preventing tongue-tripping fiascos
July 29th, 2010
In 1977, 16-year-old Cathleen Crowell decided to cover a possible pregnancy with her foster parents by inventing a rape story. Too bad for 20-year-old Gary Dotson that he slightly resembled her fictional assailant. In 1979, with Crowell’s help, Illinois courts sentenced Dotson to 20–50 years.
By 1985, Crowell had become a deeply religious woman, desperate to make amends. Confessing her deception, she helped Dotson get released on bond, pending a new hearing. Then the guilt-ridden accuser and the man whose life she’d shattered made the rounds of network morning programs, ending with The CBS Morning News and Phyllis George, a one-time Miss America recently hired from CBS Sports.
George’s interview style fell somewhere between perky and giggly, and the uncomfortable guests probably were relieved to reach the wrap-up—until George playfully suggested they shake hands like two kids making up after a playground spat. They awkwardly complied. Then with all the stereotypical vivaciousness of a former Miss Texas, George added, “How about a hug?”
TAGS: 
3 weapons to sink stage fright
March 18th, 2010
Many naval officers did extraordinary things during World War II, including Iowan Thomas Heggen who served aboard the USS Virgo. But Heggen’s lasting contribution didn’t occur in the heat of battle. It happened in the quiet of his quarters as the 26-year-old penned his only novel, Mister Roberts
Written at sea during 1944, the war classic was published in 1946, became an instant hit, and was later adapted into a Tony Award–winning play
Since the war had ended by the time his book rolled off the presses, Heggen’s publishers expected him to make public appearances to promote his work. Fighting the enemy in the Pacific Theater was one thing. But the shy Iowan was terrified at the thought of … gasp! … public speaking.
In The Almanac of American Letters, Randy F. Nelson recounts Heggen’s appearance at a formal luncheon in New York. Overwhelmed with stage fright, he stood speechless at the microphone. Finally, someone seated nearby whispered, “Perhaps you can tell us how you wrote your book.”