By Clint McElroy
HQ 113 | SPRING 2021
Dear Huntington,
How are you? I’m fine. I realize I haven’t written in a while, and I apologize for that. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. I was going through some old scrapbooks and found a bunch of old pictures that reminded me of you.
Like the picture of me in a cap and gown at my graduation from Marshall in 1977. The commencement speaker was Gov. Jay Rockefeller. He gave an inspiring, uplifting speech that encouraged us and challenged us. Well, at least I assume he did, because I don’t remember a single word of it. Either the air conditioner at Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse was on the fritz or the building was supercharged with the heat from excited young minds ready to erupt into the world, but I am telling you it was hotter than the hinges of Hell. I’m sure Governor Jay’s rhetoric was brilliant, but I was too busy fending off heatstroke to pay attention.
Then there’s the shot of me and my son Travis waving from the back door of an RV. Let me explain. Every year I would do a stunt to raise awareness of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Tri-State. This particular year I was broadcasting from inside an RV for 72 hours, or until a certain number of new volunteers signed up. I was surprised when my young son decided he would stay the night with me. I thought it was a pretty cool thing for a 7-year old to give up an evening of watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and playing “Pitfall” to spend time with his old man. That realization gave me a warm feeling inside.
Around 3 a.m., Travis had his own “warm feeling inside” and threw up all over the inside of the RV. I cleaned up as best I could, but fortunately Big Brothers Big Sisters signed up enough new volunteers that morning and I escaped from my barfy prison.
Ah, here’s a great picture from 1999 when Justin and I were in the cast of William Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. That year it was presented outdoors at the Huntington Museum of Art; Director Gene Anthony cast me as Bottom and my oldest son Justin as Flute. In Act 5, Flute and Bottom play Pyramus and Thisbe in a play within the play. If you haven’t seen the play, Thisbe is a woman and Pyramus is a man. That meant Justin was playing a woman and I was playing a man. So, you have father and son playing a man and a woman in, worst of all, a scene about ill-fated lovers. There I am on stage wooing my son through a hole in a wall. The cast and audience found the romantic scene pretty hilarious, and more than a little awkward.
I know what you’re thinking: Those are your good memories? In a word, yes. Most moments in life are not all good or all bad, but a combination of both. In my case these three snapshots symbolize some of the things I admire most about you, Huntington: community involvement, a love of the arts and an unbreakable bond with Marshall University. They, along with so many other things, make you a great place to live, work and play.
Oh, no! Here are some pictures of me in a Speedo. Excuse me, Huntington, I have to go hit the delete button.
Love,
Clint
