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Opinions Gotcha!
We would like to interrupt
your regular scheduled column to pay tribute to our friend Rodney Sherman. You
see, today is Rodney’s birthday. To those of you who may not know Rodney, he
gets great pleasure in playing practical jokes, just ask his brother Henry.
So in the spirit of humor, some of us got together to toast our comrade
on his birthday. Well perhaps “Roast” would be a better word. I first got to know Rodney through our mutual friend Jack
Lowe. Clarion Community Theater was in rehearsals for a play to be presented at
the Sawmill Theater entitled “The Battle of Shallowford”. This show was a
comedy which called for a character named Doodad. Jack excitedly called me one
evening to tell me he found someone to do the part. He was excited because the
Doodad role had only one line - “I shot a cow.”, and finding some fool to do
a one line role isn’t always easy! Doodad you see, was supposed to be a dumb
goober of a farm boy (admittedly not much of a dramatic stretch for Rodney) and
I too was thrilled that Jack had suckered him in. By the end of the run Rodney
managed to turn this one line part into a scene-stealing, belching, butt
scratching stage hog worthy of a new Tony award category - “best supporting
idiot.” Many more roles were to follow for Rodney. In some we
regrettably let him say more than one line. I can honestly say that of all the
actors that I have appeared with on stage, Rodney must be my 24th or 25th
favorite! My most memorable moment on stage with Rodney is a touching
one indeed. We were doing a play (the name which I have thankfully managed to
forget) and Rodney was working himself up into a dramatic frenzy. His speech was
supposed to end with the emphatic line “I should think!!” Just at that
moment however, his false teeth partial (which I believe he ordered from the
Montgomery Ward Catalog) let loose and his big moment came out as a meek sort of
whistling “I thould chink”. Undaunted Rodney looked at me as though his
utterance would have made Shakespeare proud. I managed (being the old pro that I
am) not to wink at the audience and point at him with wicked delight. And I
regret that decision to this day. So I am wishing my friend Rodney a very Happy
Birthday (well I thould chink)! Mike Barger President, Clarion
Community Theater. I am proud to say I’ve made Sherm’s eye twitch with my
high-pitched voice and chuckle many times. If anyone would relish the
opportunity to get back at the Sherm for all of the practical jokes he’s
played it would be me...the target of many of his shenanigans. For example, the very first year I was an intern at the
Clarion News he placed a fart machine under my desk. It had a remote control
which would work even when he left the room. It sounded like a duck quacking and
for days he claimed to not hear anything when I would exclaim, “Did you hear
guys hear that?” Someone should give him a Rodney Award” for Clarion
County’s biggest practical joker but instead I’ll just say thanks for always
hiring me back, Sherm, and your best secrets are safe with me. Amy Thompson, Clarion News staff writer, again. Our most perplexing memory of Rodney stems from his
absolute persistence he be able to dress as a woman on stage. Q. What dark twisted malady lurks deep within his psyche? A. Sibling rivalry. But brother Henry, in a well staged act
of one-upwomanship, appeared in a leopard skin bustier and stilettos in “Play
On,” and we were there to share in the gloating! On a more historical note, Rodney begged for the role of
cousin Teddy in “Arsenic and Old Lace”so he could fulfill his need to be a
Republican President and play the bugle. As it turns out, the only outcome was
his Mom wondering what happened to the money she gave him for bugle lessons. He researched the role and bored us backstage with his
lecturing about the Mary Ellen Stahlman/Ron
Ramolt I apparently frightened Rodney during a performance with a
minor wardrobe malfunction - but at least I can keep track of my costumes,
whereas Rodney can nervously flit backstage for long periods of time looking for
his costumes - when they were exactly where you left them, Rodney!!! Linda and I
are professionals. Rodney, you gave me just about the greatest compliment I
have ever received and I’ll always remember that. Happy Birthday dear. Mary Ellen Stahlman My first encounter of the Rodney kind was during the show
“Rumors”. There I was the nervous new actor and throughout the show I was
trying my best to fit in, acting
prim, proper and sociable among this group of pure lunatics. After weeks of
rehearsals, opening night finally came. It was then I found out that Rodney had
made it his dastardly goal to try to make me laugh at the wrong time on stage.
Though I hid it well, most times he succeeded. I got my revenge when one night he played the entire first
act of the show with his fly down...yes, that is Karma. Stephanie Steinman I have known my brother all my life. Through the years he
has written many stories of our adventures and most of those at my expense. Some
were true and some were not. I don’t care what he says, my brother was NEVER
dragged behind a tractor. When I saw him, he was walking upright down the road.
I suppose I could have told Dad to stop and let him ride home with us, but what
would be the point. We once got into an argument while feeding the heifers in
the back shed. Finally I said enough is enough and I grabbed a bale of hay and
threw it at him. This grassy projectile, with bazooka like force, hit him square
in the chest knocking him to the ground. He struggled to his feet, stunned and staggering, revenge
burning in his eyes. He wanted to come back at me but managed only, with grace
earning him a 10 from the swedish judge, to fall backward into a pile of fresh
cow manure. The fight was over. The moral of this story, my dear favorite
brother, is sometimes you land in the dung you dish out. Your favorite brother, Henry There are a lot of stories we can tell about Rodney
Sherman…but here's one we can put in the paper. Early this year Mark and I and
the crew had to go to Clarion on an errand. In order to find a parking spot on Pam Huffman Today is Rodney L. Sherman’s birthday, well whoop-de-doo.
It’s like celebrating the birth of Rosemary’s baby. I have only worked here
at the Clarion News for a little over a year, so I haven’t been exposed to the
full force of Rodney’s evil behavior. However, I did fall victim to one of
Rodney’s practical jokes. Linda Eisenman, our paginator, cooked up a joke to
play on our former Lifestyles Editor Jessica Bonk. Linda wanted me to try to
convince Jessica that she owed the company a large sum of money because of a
mistake she made but I didn’t think Jessica would believe me if I tried to
tell her so I asked Rodney to get involved. What a big mistake. As I left the
office for a while that day, Rodney turned the joke around on me and had Jessica
pretend to quit, which I fell for hook, line, and sinker. Rodney got a huge
laugh out of the whole thing. Ha, ha, indeed. I would just like to make it clear
to the citizens of Ryan Pugh, Clarion
News Sports Editor I first met Rodney at auditions for the play “Send Me No
Flowers” this spring. As I got to know him, I learned he liked to tell
stories, and tell them so convincingly that I would wholeheartedly believe him.
Only to find out later, they weren’t remotely true. Like the time he had me
convinced that his brother Hank was not, in fact, his brother. I believed that
for 2 ˝ months! “Wait! You two are related!!??” That was a little
embarrassing. Other than those few instances, Rodney made me feel very
welcome as the “new girl,” as did the rest of the Clarion Community Theater
Group. I was soon invited to join him and some others in the group for a game
night of playing poker. And this is where one of my favorite Rodney stories
comes in. Leading up to the first night we played, he mentioned to
me, more than once, how he was the reigning “Poker King” and how he hardly
ever lost. I had played a tiny bit of poker growing up with my brothers, so I
asked Rodney for a refresher course. He kindly showed me the ropes, and then
that first Saturday night…I proceeded to destroy him. That’s right - the
confident, teensy bit arrogant King was dethroned by the newbie and has yet to
live it down. Now that I have dragged your shame into the light for all of
Clarion to see, Rodney…I want to wish you a very, very happy birthday! Dawn Wise Before Rodney became the editor of the Clarion News we
barely spoke. In those days, the newsroom which is downstairs in the building
and advertising/composing, which is upstairs had very little interaction and
when there was, it usually wasn't pleasant. My position as paginator was the
only job that had to work closely with both departments...yes, lucky me. Soon
after Rodney accepted the position as editor, his attitude toward me changed. It
took me awhile to understand why until one day the light came on. I realized
exactly why he turned from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll. You see...I had the power.
Yes, that right - POWER. I am the last link in the chain of
how the paper is created. The final link that marks the end of Rodney's
day. He can't leave until all his pages are ready for print and that is my job
to get them ready. He knew by keeping me happy, his days would go much easier. Recently, it was my birthday and it also happened to be the
last night of our last show of the season with the Clarion Community Theater.
Although I have done a few small parts, I prefer to stay in the background so I
was doing lights and sound for this show at the Sawmill Theater.
As the house lights went down and I brought the stage lights up, no one
came out. Then all of sudden Rodney shows up on stage and he wasn't supposed to
be there. He promptly announced to the audience it was my birthday and over a
hundred people started singing to me. Being someone who prefers not to have a
lot of attention, I was stunned and quite honesty, ready to hurt Rodney. The
birthday wishes from all the audience was very nice but definitely put me
outside my comfort zone. Someday, somehow I vowed I would get my revenge. After
Rodney approved his pages and left for the day, we slipped another editoral
column on the Op/Ed page. With the collective effort of friends and co-workers
we created a little birthday surprise for Mr. Sherman. Happy Birthday my dear,
dear friend and I guess you needed reminded...I have the power!. GOTCHA! Linda Eisenman, Queen If you see Rodney today, wish him a Happy Birthday. We know
he would love to hear from everyone!
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