Mermaid Mania

Saturday March 1st, 2008 - Antioch, IL

Time to play the wacky uncle today. I went to see two of Jerry Agar’s three kids as they performed in a production of The Little Mermaid. His oldest son Tanner was with us and I have been to several of his football games and swing choir performances so I felt that it was a priority to support the other two. I think the world of them all and I’m glad I went.

Cooper is 12 and he was the lead. Well I guess the girl that played the mermaid was the lead but he was the lead male. He played the prince and he just nailed it. The kid is loaded with talent and I’m not just saying it because I know Jerry. Cooper has been in a couple of movies and even went to the Sundance Film Festival and appeared at an award ceremony.

Tanner is a great kid too and plays football and sings and swims and he’s got enough of his own good things going on but Cooper is going to go places. You can just see it. He’s a natural performer and it was in him from a young age. He feels at home up there and there isn’t anything that rattles him. He’s only 12 but can ad lib like a pro. He‘s totally got ‘it‘.

Kaelin is 8 and she’s a total firecracker. She played a starfish and even though she had a small role she was right up there letting it all hang out. She’s got it too and I’m so glad all of them got a chance to develop their talents. Jerry’s wife Ann is a saint and makes sure it all comes together and this will all pay off years later when none of these kids are in jail.

They performed at a high school auditorium in Lake Zurich, IL and it was packed to the rafters. Jerry said it held 600 but it looked like more. Even 600 is pretty impressive and it occurred to me during the show that Cooper has had a better career at 12 than I’ve had for a lifetime. That was discouraging in a way but I’m still so proud of them all I could burst.

After the show I got to see Cooper and tell him he was great up there and he was. He lit up when he saw me there and that alone was worth the trip. Kaelin saw me and ran at full speed in her starfish suit and jumped up and gave me a big hug. I told her she was the best starfish I’ve ever seen and she said ‘I know.’ LOVE to see that kind of confidence at 8.

This kind of stuff just melts my heart and I can’t get enough of it. I always wanted this whole kind of life of having a family and this is as close as I’ll probably ever get so I will continue to support the kids and tell them they’re wonderful because they are. I love all of Jerry’s kids and Bert Haas’s and Max’s and Spike’s from the Loop and all kids in general.

I had a gig tonight in Antioch at an annual church fundraiser. This was their 11th year of doing it and it wasn’t an easy crowd at all. Some of them loved it and others just stared. It was awkward when I got there because I accidentally spun and knocked a drink out of one guy’s hand and he got really angry. I apologized profusely but he just wanted to be upset.

I did my time and got laughs but not like last night. I shook hands and tried to be nice to the guy I knocked the drink over after the show but he wouldn’t let me buy him a new one so what else could I do? I had a job tonight but Cooper Agar is going to have a CAREER.