Alan Fox

I have four University degrees: Accounting, Law, Counseling, and Professional Writing.  All are from the University of Southern California.  So, it should not come as a surprise that on many Fall Saturday afternoons I spend three or four hours rooting for USC during their football game.  Sometimes I shout to the TV screen, “Fight on!” (That’s the official fight song of USC and a battle cry for its fans).

I will confess, however, that for all my enthusiasm, I am a fair-weather fan.  Last year USC’s record was 4 wins and 8 losses.  Part way through the season, I lost interest.  During losing seasons like that I wonder if the thrill of winning is worth the temporary despair of losing.

Part of USC’s problem is their previous success.  Their football loving alumni have high expectations that every year they will win every game and go on to the national championship.  Unrealistic?  Sure.  But better than rooting for the Chicago Cubs, a team that suffered a drought of many years without ever making the playoffs.

Another problem for USC is that their success has been limited by their commitment to only hiring USC alums as their head coach.  A few seasons ago they fired their head coach after he started the season with several losses.  They then elevated an assistant coach Ed Orgeron (who was not an alum).  The team was extremely successful that year, and USC played in the Rose Bowl.  But the next season Ed was replaced by a head coach with an affiliation to USC.  Bad call.  Ed left to coach the LSU team that went on to win the national championship.  Grumble mumble.

Since, as of today, USC has a 7-1 record and is ranked 9^th in the country, I’m reasonably happy (although I still am unhappy about the single loss).

This past Saturday, as USC rumbled to a high scoring victory, I realized that for me, and perhaps others, it’s not enough for USC to merely win their games.  I want them to prevail by a score of at least 50-0 every time and have at least two or three players vying to be an All American.

I also root for the Los Angeles Rams, who won the Super Bowl last season.  I attended their game yesterday, in which they lost rather dismally to their archrival, the San Francisco 49ers.  The Rams now have a record of 3 wins and 4 losses.  Ho hum.

I think this season I’ll forget the Rams and pay more attention to USC.  As I said, I’m a fair-weather fan.

Fight on!

Alan

It’s Saturday.  I don’t need to go into work today and I don’t have any plans.  How should I spend my day?

I just had a heretical thought.  What if I did nothing?

What?

For an entire day?  Do nothing?

Well either the universe would have to end, or I would.  The thought of doing nothing (and by that, I mean not accomplishing anything) for a full day is completely outside both my adult experience and my comfort zone.  I remember my twelve-year-old self asking my mother that same question during summer vacation: “What can I do today?”

I wonder — where did I ever get the idea that I have to do something “useful” every moment?  Reading is useful.  I will learn something.  Writing is useful.  Both the reader and I may learn something.  But nothing?  Being completely unproductive?  How could I rationalize that?

I remember an early TV advertisement for Alka Selzer with the tag line, “Try it, you’ll like it.”

Maybe I would like doing nothing for a change.  After all, I have run my own business for more than fifty years, been married (more than once), raised a family, written books, travelled the world, and my “leisure” time is filled with social activities with family and friends.

Even as I write this blog, I’m watching the word count because I have certain expectations for how much I should write.  I have written a blog every week for about eight years, and usually keep it short – between 300 and 450 words.  I’m now at 261 words, so maybe I’ll wrap up this blog and practice doing nothing for the rest of the day.

Just now Daveen called to say she’ll be home by 5:30. It’s already 5:00. Well, that gives me another half hour to do absolutely nothing.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Alan

I love live theater.  Years ago, I owned the Whitefire Theater on Ventura Boulevard.  I leased the theater to David Beaird, a friend of mine who wrote and directed plays.

One afternoon I was sitting next to David as he auditioned actors for a future production.  When David turned to me and started to talk during one of the auditions it made me very uncomfortable.

Afterward I said, “David, that wasn’t polite.”

His answer startled me.

“Alan, when those actors are performing in my play, they have to grab the attention of the audience.  If they don’t, everyone will be bored.  If I’m talking to you during their audition, it’s because they are not grabbing my attention and I’m not going to hire them.”

I couldn’t argue with him about that.

Another practitioner of the “grab people’s attention” point of view is Simon Cowell who created the “America’s Got Talent” show.  Time and again he demonstrates that he responds best to the contestants who command his attention.

Once Daveen and I attended a play on Broadway in which there was no dialogue for the first three or four minutes.  At the center of the stage the leading lady merely sat in a chair, rocking.  Without saying a word, she held my full attention.

After the play was over, I told Daveen that I thought the actress should win a Tony award for her performance.  Daveen pointed out a note in the program – she already had.

I suspect that the ability to “grab someone’s attention,’ is important in many aspects of our life.  Whether it’s in a business meeting, or in a job interview, or on a first date, the more adept we are at grabbing and holding someone’s attention, the more successful we’ll be in getting the deal, the job or the second date.

In a real sense, we all write, direct, and are the leading actor in the drama of our own lives.  Unlike a theater performance, however, our script is entirely improvised.

The best part is that we never know how or when each scene is going to end. And while we are not able to go back and redo the scene, we can pay attention and learn how to improve our performance every time we walk onto the stage.

Alan