Craig J. Clark: August 2008 Archives

"Nobody writes anything of worth until they're 30." -Dr. William Wegner, learned professor of communications, Trenton State College, Fall 1993

I was given this pearl of wisdom at the beginning of my third year of college, when Trenton State's Television/Theater Production department - which had just been introduced the previous spring - was in the process of defining itself. I had initially registered at TSC as a theater major, but was informed on my arrival that the old theater department had been phased out and was being reconstituted to reflect the changing times. The result was TTP, which was so amorphous at the start that we students were essentially able to make up our own curricula. Since I was in college to hone my skills as a writer, that's what I decided to base my curriculum around - my writing.

Dermot had long hair and was fiercely proud of it. So proud, in fact, that he refused to cut it for any reason, even to get a job at the factory like his mother wanted him to.

“Those jobs pay good money,” she told him, “but they won’t hire nobody who has no long hair.”

Seizing his opportunity to be a smartass, Dermot replied, “Ah, so they’ll hire somebody who doesn’t have short hair?”

“No, that’s not what I said.”

“But it is what you didn’t say.”

“What?”

“Exactly.”