This is not an example of shamelessly trolling for search engine traffic. I actually am excited that David Cook won American Idol over David “Someone Please Taser My Dad” Archuleta. Why? Two reasons.First, Cook is from Blue Springs, Missouri. Once and possibly still known as Tree City, USA, for reasons I’ve never known, Blue Springs is also my hometown. More or less. Technically, Independence is my hometown, but I lived in an odd little part that was in the Blue Springs school district. Aren’t you glad to know that? Anyway, Cook went to the same elementary school as many of my best friends growing up. Granted, he went there 10 years later. Which means he was probably a fifth grader there when my buddy and I tested some mods to said friend’s Mustang 5.0.
Man, I’m feeling old.
Anyway, it’s always nice to see someone from your hometown make it big, assuming “make it big” doesn’t equate to “being Lindsay Lohan’s toe jam scrubber.” But maybe your standards differ from my own.
Second, I’m glad David Cook won because he seemed genuinely grateful for the opportunity. I get tired of hearing 18-year-olds talking about how being on Idol is their lifelong dream. As if they’ve been hustling the coffee house or bar circuit since they were 12 and are now seeing the fruits of their labors. Good for them if they’re talented enough to be an Idol finalist. Just don’t try to tell me the many hours spent with your private vocal coach count as having paid your dues.
David Cook paid his dues. He was a bartender in Tulsa when this saga began. Tulsa. Oklahoma. I’ve been to Tulsa on business on more than one occasion. It’s a nice enough town, but not exactly a hotbed of rock-n-roll action. Unless I missed that section of town.
More important than having paid his dues is what he learned in the process. (And, by the looks of things, what he learned at home.) To be thankful for an opportunity when it comes your way. To make the most of that opportunity. To be appreciative when that opportunity pans out. And to enjoy every moment of it because you don’t know when it’s going to end.
I supposed David Cook could just be a good actor great at feigning humility. But I choose to believe otherwise. I choose to believe that a good guy one. Here’s to hoping he stays that way.
Later,
Fox