Worst teacher ever...

My drama teacher was so good that he acted like a teacher and got away with it.

Well, nearly. Let's just say he was gone much of the time and behaved inappropriately toward female students. True story. I didn't tell anyone because it wasn't over the top and in those days it was different. Kids today, thank God, know what inappropriate behavior looks like.

He lived in a motel and I guess there's nothing wrong with that, but it's a little odd for a younger man. He was always telling me that he was in trouble with the school administration, but never mentioned why. I think I know why now.

There was a certain girl, who will remain nameless, that spent an unusual amount of time with him. He always told her that he knew she was going to be a star. Prior to that, there was a swedish exchange student he treated the same way, but I don't think she bought it.

Each year we had our own awards show, which was a big deal. I was in several plays in my sophomore year and when the ballots were counted, a friend of mine on the committee told me I had won best actor by a landslide. I was very excited.

The night of the awards show came and I had my speech prepared. This drama teacher said, "And now for best actor..... Lester King"! You can imagine the shock and embarrassment that moment was like for me. I was stunned.

The next week, I went to the filing cabinet where the master ballot was placed and, sure enough, I had won by a landslide. He told me he. decided to give it to the other guy because he was a senior and it would be his last chance to win. I know!

So, I held a meeting with the drama club, against this teacher's wishes, and we created and implemented a system bypassing him completely. He was furious and I walked away from the drama department knowing that could never happen again.

I moved to Southern California after a brief stint in the Air Force and even though I should have known better, the same former teacher convinced me work for him on the studio lots, removing old metal parts and cleaning up old areas on the lots.

One day, he assigned us, including my friend and future brother in law to go to a boiler room and strip off all of the insulation. We didn't know it was asbestos, but he did. We had no masks and no ventilation. We just breathed in asbestos all day. He showed up and I told him we needed a lunch break. He said no, because he wasn't even taking a break. Then he dropped something, leaned over to pick it up and a KFC receipt fell out of his pocket.

We finished the day and quit. What a sad man to have to stoop to the measures he did to manipulate others. He told me he was fired unjustly from the school. I don't know if there were teachers unions in the 70's, but it seems to me that if it were unfair, he would have had a method of recourse.

This was my worst teacher of all time.

See you tomorrow.