16. Changes

Changes

I have never really been big on adapting to change. I don’t like it. If I am happy the way something is going, I don’t want anything to rock the boat. The months of May and June my senior year of High School were full of changes. It was a time that I should have been full of excitement, but the fear of the unknown had somehow taken away some of that excitement.

I found out that Sammy Simpson (my boss and friend) at Mix 96 FM Radio was leaving to take another job in a larger market. Sammy had moved from nights to afternoons a few months prior, so I wasn’t able to hang out with him quite the same way I used to. I saw him nearly everyday, and was still learning quite a lot from him, but it wasn’t the same.

I worked very hard on being the best employee I could be for the station. I worked for the AM station running NC State games and did any and everything else that was asked of me to do with pride.

My biggest fear was that corporate was going to bring in someone who might not see what Sammy saw in me. If I were to be completely honest, I was still in awe that I was allowed to work there, and to be a part of something that I put on such a high pedestal. In the back of my mind, I still felt awkward and grossly un-cool. Because of that, part of me felt like I didn’t deserve such a great opportunity. I was hoping whoever my new boss would be, that he would grant me the freedom that Sammy did. I also hoped he would make me feel as accepted and appreciated.

The station had become an escape for me. It was another world where I didn’t feel my status was always in question, like I did at school. Bottom line, when I was within the four walls of that musky small building, I felt like one of the cool kids that I had so longed to be while at school.

My remaining time in High School was flying by at a record pace. The weeks between the Senior Talent show and graduation was a blur. Final exams, plans for graduation night, confirming what college we would be going to… All of these things were the topic of conversation with my friends. In a time that would have been perfect for retrospection and appreciation for what we had been through together, we spent the majority of the time looking forward to the future.

When you are young, and the independence and excitement that comes with the future are within your grasp, you really don’t take time to think about the past. You don’t really learn to appreciate days gone by, until they are too far gone to go back to and you are too old to relive them.

Our Senior Yearbooks looked incredible that year. The Scottish Plaid cover had a Golden Seal on the front. It was loaded with pictures that not only captured the essence of the school year, but who we were at that time.

I passed it around to get it filled with signatures. Most of which were from girls who thought “I was so sweet”, and “Such a nice guy”, and all of the other things I didn’t want to be called at that juncture in my life.

A lot of guys I shared classes with told me how much fun they had getting to know me, and gave me their number to call so we could “hang out sometime’. I never called any of them, as I was not sure if they really meant it. Looking back I am sure some of them did, and I should have taken them up on their offer.

My best friend David ‘Tater’ Turner – A Great American, signed my yearbook briefly and touched on our ‘Brotherhood’. We were both born only children, but had grown up as brothers. There was no need for a lengthy paragraph or two. Our friendship would far surpass the halls of Scotland High School, and we both knew that.

Jason also had great things to say in his signing of my yearbook. He mentioned all of the good times we had through middle and high school. He complimented me on my acting, singing and guitar playing. (Truth be told, he was much better than me at both acting and singing. Thankfully, he didn’t seriously pick up guitar too). He touched on how things got rocky for a bit during the Katie drama, but we had come on the other side of it remaining friends. He was right, and I was glad we did.

My favorite signature came from a faculty member. I had asked my favorite teacher- Bob Bierbaum to sign it on the Video Productions page. It was a class that shaped me more than any other class.

Funny thing about me, while most kids become quiet and reserved when they are feeling a little awkward and shy, I had the tendency to get louder and talk even more. I had asked him to sign my yearbook on a day that I had been rather loud and showing off a bit in class. It actually was a blessing in disguise. Because of my actions earlier that day in his class, he wrote passionately, and gave me some of the best advice I had ever received.

“I hope that you have had the chance to see that video and broadcasting can be very creative and fun. It’s also hard work at times. That part, sometimes is not so fun. But it’s the only measure of a person’s character. Peer position and ‘Pecking order’ can seem important, but does nothing to build a future, or to allow yourself to express your capabilities and possibilities. I hope you take the time to invest in what you CAN be… and what you WANT to be in the future. NONE of these folks will be around within 2 years for you. Don’t waste any effort to meet their (incredibly) low expectations… Set high goals and be the achiever you’re destined to be! You’re worth the effort. Sincerely – Mr. B.

Bob Bierbaum was the best teacher I ever had. I had him in 7^th grade as my English teacher, and then my Video Productions teach my Junior and Senior year in High School. Everyone has a teacher that helped shape them as adults, Bob Bierbaum was that teacher for me. I had never had a teacher put that much faith in me and to accept me the way he did. He filled that role for me in a way he would never comprehend. The words he wrote in my yearbook that year, they were painfully true and needed to be said. Part of me just wishes they would have been said to me at a much younger age.

Mr. Bierbaum is a lawyer now. The world has enough lawyers, but not enough great teachers. Bob Bierbaum was a great teacher.

In a matter of weeks, I was going to say goodbye to two men who had been both mentors and friends to me. Sammy was moving on and I was graduating High School and leaving my time with Mr. Bierbaum behind. I was the kind of teenager that needed that pat on the back and encouragement from time to time. Both of these men did that for me at a very impressionable age. I am a better man today because of the time they spent with me.

My yearbook was a good representation of my Senior Year. I had more signatures than I had in any other previous yearbook. I think that may have come from making more friends, and feeling more comfortable in my own skin my senior year. Plus, I had grown up. Some of my classmates had grown up too. The ones that did not manage to grow up simply didn’t matter to me as much as they once did.

I got tons of great signatures from many great people, but the only signature that I wanted and never received was Megan Alba Biel’s. It was strange how she seemed so untouchable within the last few months of school.

I had labeled her ‘untouchable’ when I was younger, meaning that she had set the mark for everything beautiful in my eyes. From the day I first saw her in Mr. Hedgepeth’s class, all the way to final days of school, she was THE girl I spent my time alone dreaming about.

But my definition of ‘Untouchable’ is different in this sense.

She was ‘Untouchable’, in a way that she was always seemed just two steps ahead or one step behind me. I would see her in the hallway, but she would be surrounded by friends. I would pass her in her car in the parking lot, driving away from school. She was even in the same restaurant when my folks and I went to dinner one evening, but the only appropriate interaction in a place like that was a simple smile and wave. She was everywhere, except the places where I could actually talk to her. Looking back, it seems almost poetic that I never got her to sign my yearbook. It kind of represents our relationship the latter part of that year.

I wanted to ask her for a dance at Prom, but I never could find her.

I wanted her to know that I sang my song for her at the Senior Talent Show, but she wasn’t there.

She was everywhere but where I wanted her to be… She was literally ‘Untouchable’.

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to many people. It was especially hard to say goodbye to the people who had played such a prominent role in my High School years. Bob Bierbaum, Sammy Simpson, and yes…Megan Alba Biel had made the time I spent during my High School days special and memorable. In a matter of days, I would be at a point to where I might never see them again.

I don’t like change. I especially didn’t like change at the age of Seventeen. But like it or not, big changes were just a few days away for me. Some expected, and some were not, but all of which shaped the coming years of my life… 

15. Senior Talent Show

I was putting away my guitar when I saw Megan Alba Biel walking up the steps on the side of the stage. I had just given the performance of a lifetime, and had been anxious for her reaction. Trying to play it cool, I avoided eye contact with her and simply said hello.

“You were great out there” she said demurely. She was looking at me in a way she never looked at me before.

“Thanks” I said, still playing it cool.

There was a moment of silence, as if she were waiting for me to say something else.

“You look so passionate when you are playing music, I didn’t know you had that in you.” She said, breaking the silence.

“Well, I guess you don’t know me all that well.” I replied as I got up with my guitar in hand, looking as if I were going to walk away from the conversation.

“That’s a shame I guess” she muttered seemingly to herself.

“No” I said turning back around to face her. “ What’s a shame is that there are only a few weeks left of school, and we are just now having this conversation” I responded as I put down my guitar and walked closer to her.

I remained silent with every step I took closer to her, trying to read what she was thinking at the moment. I finally stood within arms reach, facing her, and trying to play hard to get.

“I think I would like to get to know you better” she said as she reached out to touch my right arm.

I stared at her for a moment, not saying anything.

I reached for her hand and pulled her closer to me. My aggressiveness caught her by surprise as her eyes widened with anticipation. Her face turned a slight shade of pink, blushing with both excitement, and slight embarrassment as I smiled in response to her reaction.

My left arm wrapped around the bottom of her tiny waist and my right hand touching the side of her face and I ran my fingers through her long blond hair. Her body felt soft and perfect pressed against mine as I held her close and traced the side of her face with my fingertips.

I was looking into her eyes, making her wait for the moment that I had dreamed about for so long…

I moved in closer feeling her breath on my face….It was hot and sweet.

I gave her a smile full of dimples as I placed both hands on the side of her face. She closed her eyes as I moved in even closer to her. Her mouth opened slightly and her lips were puckered as I……

“HELLO…. MR. MYERS….!!?!!??”

Mr. Beirbaum was snapping his fingers in front of my face as he woke me up from my daydream.

He was visibly upset at my lack of focus in his class that day. I was upset at him for disrupting what was going to happen next in my daydream. Thankfully, I wasn’t caught with my lips puckered. That could have been all kinds of awkward.

We were taping an episode of “Scotland Today”. I had lost focus after finding out that they were going to have a Senior Talent show. Dreams of me taking the stage and winning over Megan Alba Biel with a song had clouded my thoughts and I wasn’t doing my job up to par.

While we set up the next shot, the girl I shared hosting duties with, Lynn Littell , asked me if I was going to sign up for the talent show. She knew I was a drama/chorus geek, and thought that it would be right up my alley.

“Uh… maybe” I said, shrugging my shoulders, trying to hide my excitement.

I knew that this was going to be my big chance to get MAB to notice me as more than just the ‘nice guy’ she went to school with. I wanted to build on what started with our impromptu lunch months ago. It was something she probably had not thought twice about, but I had replayed in my mind over and over.

My game plan was simple, but brilliant. I was smart enough to know that any success I had had with girls in the past had generally spawned from my playing music. I might not have had a ton of luck with girls at home, but at Pirateland Campground in Surfside Beach SC, I was extremely successful.

Every summer we would hang out around the gazebo on the beach, and eventually, I would wind up taking a stroll down the beach with some pretty Yankee girl who liked how my accent was “so cute” and how I sang a song to them. For some reason, Yankee girls liked me. It worked every time.

So I viewed the upcoming talent show as a chance for Megan Alba Biel to see that side of me. Granted she had the same accent I had, so the Yankee angle wasn’t going to work in my favor, but maybe she would like the song I would sing to her. Surely that would spark something. There was no beach to walk along in my hometown of Laurinburg NC. If there were, I would walk 500 miles with MAB if given the opportunity.

I signed up for the show immediately after class, and began to plan out how I wanted my performance to go.

My song selection really wasn’t that difficult. I had learned to play a popular Travis Tritt song over Spring Break that was fairly popular with the beach crowd, and I thought it would be a perfect fit for the talent show.

The first line in the first verse of the song is – ‘I can’t hide the way I feel about you… Anymore’

The song goes on to tell the story about a guy who had held on to a one sided love for a woman for too long, and he couldn’t hold back ‘Anymore’. It said exactly what I didn’t have the nerve to say to Megan Alba Biel. I love songs like that. I was hoping she would love the song too. I have to admit, I was also hoping it would lead to a scenario much like the daydream I had in Mr. Bierbaum’s class.

When the big day finally came, I carried my guitar around with me at school to every class. The show was scheduled to start at 4pm, just a couple of hours after classes. We would use the time before show time to set up any audio needs, and to do a complete run through rehearsal.

At 245pm I entered the auditorium with my guitar in hand, feeling pretty confident. I saw many other friends and classmates getting there gear ready to rehearse as I found a spot on stage to get ready. Every one else had PA equipment, or DJ’ing equipment. I just had my Washburn acoustic guitar. The same guitar my Dad got for me my Freshman year. It was kind of poetic that I would use it to play at my senior talent show.

The line up included some of my drama friends from ‘Oklahoma’ who had started a band. I was talking to one of the guys from the group while I got my guitar out to tune it. Everything was going smoothly, and we were chatting away as I attempted to get ready. Everything was going smoothly that is, until I tweaked my D string to tune up… and it broke.

A look of horror came over my face the instant it happened. The guy I was talking to just started laughing. Apparently, he found the situation funny. I didn’t see the humor however. I searched all over my guitar case for a spare string, but there wasn’t one to be found. I started freaking out, trying to figure out what to do. I asked another guy that was there with his guitar if he had any spare strings, but he had none to offer. There was only one solution.

It was an hour before show time and my house was twenty minutes away. I ran to my car, guitar in hand and stepped on the gas as I pulled away from the parking lot. The security guard tried to wave me down as I peeled tires and drove away. I could deal with him later, I had to get home fast. I put my emergency blinkers on, and drove 65mph in a 35mph zone. I had to get home, change the string, and be back at the school in less than an hour. Thankfully I drove a 1986 Blue Mustang!

I ran into the house and rushed frantically to my bedroom. My folks had already left for the school to see me perform, so they weren’t there to hear me cursing profusely as I stumbled my way through changing the string. I got from the school to home and had the string changed in twenty minutes. I ran back out to the car and peeled rubber out of our driveway to get back to the school in time.

Again, with the emergency blinkers on, I drove 65mph the entire way back to the school. How I didn’t get pulled or in a wreck is beyond me, but my luck seemed to be improving as I pulled into the school parking lot. The security guard had gone home apparently, and I made it back into the building just as they were about to mark my name off the list of performers.

“I’m here!” I yelled across the room, as I heard them say that I was a no show.

”Well the show is starting now….. Get your butt on stage, your up!’ My drama teacher and director of the show Mrs. McCrummen literally pushed me onto the stage.

“What’s Up Class of 92!!” I yelled still going of the adrenaline rush of the events prior. My excitement was met with a couple of claps, but that was about it. Apparently, they didn’t share my enthusiasm.

I sat down at the end of the stage and let me feet hang below. I didn’t need a microphone or a chair to sit in. All I needed was their attention and my beat up Washburn guitar.

I looked out at the crowd. It was way more crowded than I expected. I was expecting to have butterflies, but oddly enough… I didn’t. I had been planning this moment for a long time, and I wanted to soak it all in. I sat there for a second, and then began to play.

I hit every note, and nailed every chord change (Well, all but one… but who’s counting?) My eyes closed throughout the majority of the performance, feeling every word that I was singing. I wasn’t thinking about the crowd, I wasn’t thinking about the hassle I ran into just minutes before the show started, or the fact that my parents were in the audience. The only thing (or person) on my mind while I was performing was Megan Alba Biel. I held nothing back in my performance. I kept my eyes closed almost through the entire song. By the time I strummed the last chord, I was anxious to open my eyes.

When I did open my eyes, I was greeted with a standing ovation by the entire audience. The crowd was filled with my classmates, peers, and friends… and everyone was on their feet. The feeling of acceptance and love I felt at that moment was humbling. Many of those in attendance probably hated country music, so they normally would not have appreciated that particular song. Many in attendance were kids I grew up with through out Elementary, Middle, and High School. Many were the so call ‘Popular Kids’ I had spent so many years trying to impress and feel accepted by.

At that moment, I felt accepted, admired and loved by them all. I had begun my High School career wanting to make more friends, and to move up the popularity chain. Status seemed irrelevant at that point, but I did feel as if everyone there was my friend. I can still remember the faces of the people who were there, and I do still consider them friends.

The only face I did not see was Megan Alba Biel’s. She wasn’t at the show. All of the time that I had planned on making a big impression on her, I never considered that she wouldn’t be there. That being said, I didn’t invite her either. I just figured it would happen, just like the movie scene I had been picturing in my head for so long. But it did not.

However what I did get out of that day far surpassed any dream that I could have ever had.

Everyone has moments where they can look back and say it summed up an entire season of there life. The Senior Talent show for my class of 1992 was that moment for me. When I think about my High School days, that is the moment I choose to think about the most. It meant more to me than any piece of paper I could ever receive.

Graduation was just weeks away, and we would be going our separate ways. Time was running out on many things, and I felt each second in the remaining few weeks. I wanted so badly to find a way to share the remaining moments with Megan Alba Biel, but I was running out of time and ideas on how to do it. Changes were coming, and they were coming quickly… I just wondered if any would involve my dream girl for the past four years.

13. Senior Year/Senior Prom Blind Date

Senior Year/Senior Prom Blind Date
I can’t really explain why, but I have always loved playing basketball. It really makes no sense seeing how I am so short, not very fast, and quite frankly, not very good at it… but it has always been my favorite sport to play. My best friend David ‘Tater’ Turner – A Great American and I spent many weekends in my back yard shooting hoops. I wish I could find the energy today that I had back then playing ball.
One Friday afternoon after school, Tater and I were playing ball when a conversation about Prom came up.
“Are you going this year?” he asked.
“I kind of doubt it” I replied.
I really didn’t want a repeat of what happened last year with my Prom. I have already mentioned that I had a great time at Katie’s prom, but mine was a complete disaster, and I was miserable for just about the whole time I was there. Plus, you add the fact that I had absolutely NO prospects for a date, it just made sense to me to skip it.
I explained this to Tater at length, and he responded with a simple retort -
“It’s only a dance dude. You should go and have fun, who cares about last year or even if you have a date or not”.
He had a point, but I really wasn’t interested in going.
We kept playing ball for a little while longer until my Mother interrupted us. She yelled out the back sliding glass door that I had a phone call.
“Hey Dave, it’s Tank from the station”.
Tank Sherman was the morning guy at the radio station I worked part time at, and hung out at full time.  Tank was a big burly guy with an amazing mustache and really curly hair.  He was kind of like Tom Selleck’s overweight distant cousin, with a thick southern accent.
“Do you remember a girl that came in the other day to pick up a CD? Her name’s Jessica” he asked me.
“Not really Tank, why?”
“Well she told me she thought you seemed pretty cool, and gave me her number for you to call her”.
At this point I thought this was some practical joke. It definitely sounded like a set up. I was really hoping he wasn’t recording this to use as a bit on the Morning Show for the station. I already knew I was lame and couldn’t find a date, but I didn’t need it broadcast on Mix 96 for the entire world to hear, especially those who went to my High School.
“Um.. I really don’t remember a Jessica, Tank. Are you trying to pull my leg?” I asked skeptically.
“No dude, not at all. I’m just passing on the message from her onto you.”
“Dude, you’re not recording this are you? Because that would not be cool whatsoever.”
“Simmer down Myers” he said with a laugh. “I’m just calling to give you her number that’s all. I’m not using this for a bit, but I wish I had been recording it now”
So he gave me the number, and after thinking about it for a few minutes, I gave her a call. She seemed like a pretty nice girl over the phone, so I agreed to meet up with her later that night. At that point in my life, I wasn’t aware of the three day rule to where you wait three days before calling a girl after you get her number. To be quite honest, I didn’t know any of the rules when it came to dating. All I knew is I could either -
A. Spend the night hanging out with Tater watching ‘Ford Fairlane’ – Starring Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay, for the 20th time, (we always admired the classics).
or
B. Meeting a girl that may be hot and let me make out with her.
Option B won in my decision making process.
So I made the drive out to Red Springs, a small town about 15 miles outside of my small town of Laurinburg NC. I was going to have a blind date with a girl I had met only once (except I really didn’t remember it).
Is it a blind date if you don’t remember meeting the girl the first time?
We met at the local McDonalds to hang out for a bit (her idea, not mine). So over a double cheeseburger and fries, I got to know the girl who won the Bel Biv Devoe CD from my radio station.
She was a junior at Flora McDonald private school. She was pretty with long brown hair and brown eyes. We liked a lot of the same music, movies, and other things that are important to teenagers when they are getting to know someone for the first time. We sat and talked for over an hour about various things such as school and friends and things like that.
When it was time to leave, I walked her to her car and on a whim,  I asked to go to Prom with me.
“Hey, my prom is coming up in a month or so… how would you like to go with me?”
She said yes on the spot.
So within the matter of 24 hours I went from not going to my Prom, to thinking about going, to having a date with a girl I had only spent an hour with at McDonalds.
Like David ‘Tater’ Turner-A Great American said – “It’s just a dance”.
I was going to Prom with a girl I barely knew, and I wound up having one of the best nights in my entire High School career.

12. You Only Get One Senior Year

You Only Get One Senior Year

“We only get one Senior Year, and I’m not going to let anybody take that experience away from me. You shouldn’t either. You deserve better than that.” – Megan Alba Biel
She was right. I was letting silly things get in the way of me fully enjoying my Senior year. I promised her I wouldn’t let that happen anymore, and I did my best to follow through.
Not long after Christmas break was over, auditions for the spring musical were coming up and I decided to try out. I sat out the previous year’s musical due to my own insecurities and “creative differences” with our Choir director. “Creative Differences” are just a nice way of saying that I didn’t really want to spend anymore extra time around him than I had to.
Every year I would audition in hopes of making it into “Scotland Singers”. It was an ‘audition only’ choir group that got to go on a lot of fun trips and perform. In my eyes it was the pinnacle of success in chorus (and I wonder why I wasn’t more popular in High School?).
There were two different levels of the HS chorus, and at that time, singing was the only thing I felt I was any good at. So naturally I figured I would get into SS fairly easily. I was wrong. Instead, I was elected to perform in “Concert Choir”. It was basically the choir where all of the folks who didn’t make SS auditions wound up. I have never really liked being second best at anything, especially things that I felt I was good in. But regardless, I failed the auditions every year, leaving me feeling down about myself and the entire process. In my eyes, the chorus teacher made it more of a popularity contest than a true audition process. Not to say that ones who made it in didn’t deserve their spots, I just felt many were overlooked and not chosen due to their social standing.
Finally however, toward the end of my junior year, I auditioned for the last time… and I GOT IN! The sense of pride and accomplishment made me feel really good about myself.
I told the teacher thank you for giving me the opportunity to be in the group.
Instead of telling me how much I had improved..
Or he was proud of me…
Or even congratulations…
He simply stared at his papers on his desk without looking at me and said -
“It’s always easier to make it into Scotland Singers when you’re a senior.”
It shouldn’t have been too big of a surprise as he never escaped the chance to make a joke at my expense to the rest of the class. He loved to make himself look better by belittling others, including me. I can’t tell you how many times I left his class feeling low about myself. That is to be expected by some of your classmates, but never by a teacher.
I realize it was just a silly High School Choir, and certainly wasn’t the coolest thing to strive for, but it was something I wanted badly. All I really wanted out of that conversation was an Atta Boy, or Good job, or at least” We’re happy to have you”. But I didn’t get it. What I did get however, was a very important lesson in life.
Sometimes no matter how talented you may be, or how hard you work, you still might never get a shot at doing what you really feel like you have earned. Even more so, sometimes when you finally do get granted your chance, it can be bittersweet. He also taught me that people in power can play favorites sometimes, simply …because they can.
All that being said, and getting back to my point…. I decided to look past all of that, and audition for the Spring Musical. We were doing ‘Oklahoma’ that year. I had figured out by now that I had no chance of getting the lead, but I really didn’t care (Jason got one of the leads, and did a much better job than I could have ever done.) I got a supporting small part with a few lines and no solos. A few years back that would have bothered me, but not this time. I chose to do the play so I could hang out with my friends in Drama one last time before graduation, and hopefully have some fun and make some memories.
The show was a much larger production than in previous years, and we wound up with a much larger cast than usual. Many spots were filled by folks who had not been in any plays in the past. Many of which were popular kids. That kind of intimidated me slightly, as I wondered how I would fit in to the new dynamic of people. I was so worried they weren’t going to like me. That they would make fun of me, or laugh at me behind my back. Ultimately, I was afraid that the addition of some of the ‘in crowd’ kids would make me feel like an outcast inside of my own circle of peers.
Within a few rehearsals, all of those worries were left behind as I found myself bonding with some of the same kids I found so untouchable all of the years before. It is amazing how an after school activity such as a school play, sports, yearbook, etc can make all social status’ become closer. We all worked as a team and became somewhat of a small family over the few months we were together. It was by far my favorite experience in a play to date. And the after party once all of the performances were over, was legendary… that’s all I’ll say about that.
On top of all of my new friends I made, I felt like I got the chance to reconnect with Jason and let some of the final bitterness go that I had felt from earlier in the year regarding Katie. Bygones were indeed bygones, and we went back to being friends like we had been so many years before.
I have to admit, there was a part of me that wished that Megan Alba Biel had been there to be a part of it all. But honestly, if she had been.. I don’t know if I would have been able to make myself so comfortable around so many people whom I saw on a daily basis, but yet were still strangers in so many ways. Of all of the plays I did in high school (including the couple I had bigger parts in), ‘Oklahoma’ was the only one that I kept the script from. I keep it as a reminder of how great life can be when you let your guard down a bit, and let people in… even if it does seem a little scary at the time.
We did numerous shows, and each time I looked out into the audience hoping to see Megan Alba Biel. I realized she wasn’t probably going to fall for me while I was in FULL ON DRAMA GEEK MODE. I hoped she would see me trying to make the most of my senior year, and trying harder to enjoy every last minute of it.
The minutes were indeed counting down, and I had Senior Prom to look forward to. Up until a few months prior, I hadn’t really anticipated on going. After all of the drama (pardon the pun) that went into my previous year’s Prom night, I had decided not to go. But life was a little sweeter for me as my Senior year wound down and I decided I would consider going. If for no other reason than trying to make the most out of my last few days of High School.
The only problem was… I didn’t have a date.
That would all change with a phone call from Tank Sherman – The Morning Guy at Mix 96 (the Radio station I worked for and spent the majority of my time at).

11. Senior Year/ Thanksgiving with the Family and The Macy’s Day Parade

Senior Year/ Thanksgiving with the Family and The Macy’s Day Parade


I never really understood why our marching band’s signature song for 1991/92 was ‘Georgia On My Mind’. Scotland High School based in rural Scotland County North Carolina, not in Georgia.  Our fight song always has been ‘Scotland the Brave’, and has been since my father played in the marching band in the early sixties.
However when it came time to be put on a national stage, the school’s band director chose to feature the song that had been getting the strongest response during various competitions and all of our home football games. It seemed strange to me that my rural NC high school chose to perform the State Song from another state.
That being said, when Janet Stubbs played her trumpet solo and the rest of the band followed with the powerful crescendo on the Ray Charles classic… It gave the audience chills, and made them long for Rhett and Scarlett, ripe peaches, and a freshly bloomed Magnolia.
Every home football game the marching band is introduced as “The Pride of Scotland County”, and on Thanksgiving 1991, they more than lived up to their name. I am sure every television set in Laurinburg was locked on NBC that morning to see friends and family members march down Times Square in their plaid kilts and traditional Scottish uniforms.
The Myers household was no different.

The smell of turkey, dressing, string bean casserole, and numerous other Turkey Day offerings filled the house. My family all gathered around our 25 inch console television to watch SHS marching band perform.
\My Grandparents were there, as well as my Aunt Janice and Uncle Randall. All of my cousins were there too, so we had a house full trying to find space on the couch and love seat to see the band. When they finally were shown performing, we all started naming off familiar faces.
“Isn’t that the Kurzenski girl that lives a few blocks over?”

“Look... there is Janet Stubbs, she’s such a pretty girl.”


I enjoyed seeing all of my friends and classmates on TV. The sense of pride I had for my school as well as my community could not be measured. I do have to admit, there was one particular girl I was looking for more than others. As I studied the TV looking for her.. My mother asked me a question.
“Which one is that Biel girl you keep talking about?”

Embarrassed that she called me out in front of the entire family, I tried to act like I didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Who are you talking about?” I said softly and mildly annoyed, the way teenagers do when they don’t want to talk about something.

“The girl I keep hearing you talk to Tater and Jason about.

“Whats her name? Jessica, Mandy.. something…”

“Megan. Her name is Megan Alba Biel” I said in an aggressive tone.

Like in so many other small towns across the country, when someone new and unknown is brought up in conversation, everyone involved starts to play ’6 Degrees of Separation (in a small town)’.
“I don’t know any Biel’s. What are her Parents names?” My Father chimed in.

“Um.. I don’t know.” I said.

“Does she have any brothers or sisters?” My cousin Sandy asked.

“I think she has a Sister”. I responded

“What was her Mother’s maiden name?”

“How am I suppose to know that?” I asked.

“What does her Daddy do for a living?” My uncle asked.

“I don’t know”. I answered increasingly frustrated with the way the conversation was going.

“For you to like somebody so much for so long, you sure don’t know a lot about her” my Mother said jokingly.
I didn’t want to admit it, but Mom had a point.
I felt my blood pressure start to rise in both embarrassment and frustration. Then my Aunt Janice asked the question that I knew was coming…..
“Honey, if you like her so much, why don’t you just ask her out?”
“SERIOUSLY… can we just watch the band on TV!” I responded, trying to get the subject changed or avoided totally, but they were on a roll and wouldn’t let up.
“Does she have a boyfriend?” My cousin Sandy asked.


“No, she just broke up with him.” I said.

“Well there you go... ” Sandy added. “You’re single, she’s single… You had better hurry up and ask though, graduation is right around the corner”

“I don’t think Megan Alba Biel is interested in going out with me” I muttered.

“Why not?” A couple of them asked, in what sounded like family harmony.

“I don’t exactly fit in with the crowd she hangs out with. She is entirely out of my league” I felt my heart sink a little as I admitted out loud  for the first time, what I had been thinking to myself for years.
 I felt defeated as I had been grilled by my entire family. A few seconds of silence followed, as my family realized they might have pushed the questions a little too far. Janet had begun her solo in the background as I stared at the floor.

My Grandma, who had been quiet throughout the entire conversation finally spoke up.
“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. You’re a handsome, nice young man with a bright future and a lot to offer. I don’t think you should say there is ANYBODY is out your ‘League’. That Biel girl would be lucky to have a young man like you to go out with. If she can’t see that, then it’s her loss.”

I didn’t know what to say.
 I just remember thinking that Grandma was sweet, but they didn’t understand how things were. They all had lived in a different generation, and things were different now. Guys like me didn’t ask girls like Megan Alba Biel out.
Janet Stubbs had played her final note of “Georgia”, and the parade had moved on to the next float. The subject was dropped and we moved on to eat another delicious Thanksgiving dinner.

My Dad had taped the performance. Later I went back and watched Megan march in time down Times Square. I watched the tape alone, and rewound it a few times just to enjoy the moment, and to see MAB lighting up my television screen.

My cousin Sandy had made good point. Graduation was coming quickly, and after that there was no telling if I would ever see Megan again. That made me a little sad, but who knew what the future held?

I also had made a promise to Megan a few weeks before during our impromptu lunch at the BK Lounge that I was going to enjoy my Senior year as much as possible. In the months came afterward... I did just that.
 Graduation was coming quickly, and I made the most of the days that were left. From a the Senior Prom,  to a Senior Talent Show, and finally graduation… every moment left memories too sweet to be erased with time.
 More about that next time.

10. Senior Year/Lunch with MAB

Senior Year/Lunch with MAB


It was my second Saturday in a row I had to go to school for SAT tutoring. I did not want to be there, but by will of my parents, I was. To my surprise, the second week of studying brought a new study partner.
The girl I had spent the majority of my early teenage years dreaming about, the one and only Megan Alba Biel. Nearly four years of school had passed, and we only shared one class the entire time. I think we possibly shared two sentences worth of conversation as well.
I really don’t remember a lot of the actual STUDY part of that day, but I do remember that Megan was wearing a green short sleeve shirt, shorts, and flip flops.  Her nails were painted pink, and she fidgeted with her pencil a lot while sitting across from me.
I also remember being extremely hungry.
I was embarrassed by the fact that my stomach was growling so loudly and often.
“No breakfast this morning?” she asked me with a smile.
“Not really” I replied, turning a little red.
We helped each other with the study session, and finally got through it. As we were getting our stuff together to leave, she asked if I was going to get some food on the way home. I can’t remember if she asked me, or the other way around… but regardless, we found ourselves eating lunch together at Burger King not long afterwards.
I was unusually at ease with her as we sat down to eat. We talked about how bad it stunk to be at school on a Saturday, and about how much we each dreaded taking the upcoming test.
The topic of college came up, and I told her that I didn’t have a clue where I wanted to go or what I wanted to major in. She rattled off a few schools she was interested in going to, but said she didn’t know what she wanted to major in just yet.


I told her of my new found passion in radio, and about spending time at the station after the school. I knew that was my calling, I just wasn’t sure how I was going to get there.

She expressed her excitement over her upcoming Macy’s Parade trip to NY with the band. The time spent in a city that big can mean a lot to a small town girl. We talked more and more about the endless possibilities that laid ahead of us in the coming months, and years.
In the midst of the conversation, she threw me a curve ball.
“What’s been going on with you lately? You don’t seem to be yourself.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not really knowing what she was talking about.
“When I pass you in the hall, you always seem to have your head down”.
I really didn’t know what to say. My first reaction was that I was shocked she even really paid that much attention to me. We just occasionally crossed paths in the hall, but it wasn’t like we knew each other that well.

I really didn’t want to get into the whole breaking up with Katie thing. So I just blew off it off, and tried to change the subject.  I put the focus of our conversation back on her.
“Oh, everything is fine” I said.  “Tell me about what you want to do when you get to New York City”.

I was talking about life with Megan Alba Biel over a double cheeseburger and coke at the BK Lounge, it all seemed a bit surreal to me at the time. I played coy for a little while, but eventually gave in and told her about the break up and how I hadn’t really been myself since.
She said she had recently broken up with her boyfriend as well, but she refused to let that bring her down that much. It hurt, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin her senior year.

“We only get one Senior Year, and I’m not going to let anybody take that experience away from me. You shouldn’t either. You deserve better than that.”
She made me promise that I would try to make the most out of my last year in High School.
She had said what many others had been trying to tell me for months, but I hadn’t listened. However, because it was coming from her, this time, and I was listening. It was the first day of me finally getting over what had happened months before. The light at the end of the tunnel had gotten a little bit brighter thanks to her.

Her eyes seemed to soften when she listened to me. Her smile was genuine and warm. Her laugh was the kind of laugh that made you want to constantly think of something witty to say, just so you could hear it again. The way my heart beat heavily while sitting there with her, yet at the same time, feeling unusually comfortable was a strange feeling.
Talking to her was easy. It was more natural than I ever imagined that it could be. It made me wish I hadn’t waited until my Senior year to actually HAVE a conversation with her.
I know this may sound kind of funny... but somewhere in our deep talk, I noticed a little mustard on the corner of her mouth. I chose not to tell her about it. The slight imperfection made her all the more attractive to me. It made her seem real, and not just the dream girl I had made her out to be.

I had spent years thinking about the blond girl across the classroom in 9th grade. She was the focal point of many a daydream for me during the long boring days of mundane classes and too often lonely lunch periods. All that time I had focused on how stunningly beautiful she was, without really knowing exactly who she was.
I began to realize that Megan Alba Biel wasn’t too much different than me.
She had dreams, like myself that were to big too be contained in our small town. She felt the excitement of the unknown that came after high school. She knew the future was wide open, and yet it was right around the corner.  The feeling is both exhilarating and terrifying.
Megan was more than just another popular girl.
She was even more than a pretty girl.
She was a real young woman.  She had thoughts, dreams and feelings that she was willing to share with me over an impromptu lunch. It was flattering for her to open up to me in such an honest way, and to allow me to do the same.
Like I had said many times before, Megan Alba Biel set the mark for everything that was beautiful to me. Only after spending over two hours with her at lunch, I realized that her beauty far surpassed her appearance. 

9. Beginning of Senior Year/ Top 40 Radio and SAT’s

Beginning of Senior Year/ Top 40 Radio and SAT’s

Somewhere between my Junior and Senior year, I quit working at Belk’s Department Store. An opportunity arose for me to work at the local music store, and I jumped on it. I thought I would spend the majority of my time there learning how to repair guitars, play guitar, and sell guitars. Instead, I spent the majority of my time with a weed eater or a lawnmower. When I wasn’t outside in the hot abyss of humidity hell, I was taking out trash, cleaning toilets, and shrink wrapping CD’s upstairs in the non-air conditioned attic of the store.
After about three months of sweating away about 10lbs that I really couldn’t afford to lose (at that point in my life anyway) and not as much as touching a guitar, I realized it was time for an occupational shift. I quit the music store, and took the first job I could find… Subway.
I figured working at Subway would be a cool deal. It was right beside St. Andrews Presbyterian College (the small local college in my hometown, full of hot hippie college chicks), so the scenery wouldn’t be too shabby either.
School had started, and while I tried to pretend I was getting over my break up with Katie, but I really wasn’t. I had a huge chip on my shoulder, and to be quite honest, I had a pretty bad attitude all around.
It didn’t take long for me to hate my new job. After about three weeks of going home with yellow fingers from cutting banana peppers, and smelling like onions, tuna, and meatballs.. I was beginning to contemplate another occupational shift.
On top of that, though the school year had just begun, I had a major case of senioritis.
I was ready to move on and move out of Laurinburg. The problem was, I had no idea where I was moving to, or what I was going to do when I got there. I assumed I would go to college somewhere, major in something.
I just had no clue where or what.
Everyone else seemed to have a plan, and I had nothing.

During the end of my junior year, our local FM Southern Gospel Radio station switched formats and went Top 40. The station changed its name to Mix 96. It was a very big deal to have something so cool in such an un-cool small town.

One day while still angry over the fact that I had just burned my hand baking crappy bread, and that I was only one hour into my work day, a big fellow came in to order a BMT. He had short blondish brown hair, and had a funny accent.

 It didn’t take me long to figure out who he was.

The guy I was making a BMT for was Shane Foley.

He was the mid-day personality for Mix 96. His thick Australian accent made him different from anyone else on the radio in our area.

Though it seems funny to admit now, at that time I still held Disc Jockey’s in celebrity status.   As a kid, I would sit by the radio patiently to hear my favorite song.  I often called in when they needed a “guest DJ” or for a contest.  When you’re an only child without a lot of friends, the radio becomes as close as a friend can get.

When I was through making his sandwich, I told him I recognized who he was, and even called him by name before he could introduce himself. He appeared to be flattered.

On a whim, I asked him if there were any opportunities for something like an internship or something like that. He gave me his card and told me to call him.

I took his card home with me and called him the next day. He offered to let me come up to the station to have a look around and meet the program director.

Later that evening, I drove to the station. It was there that I met Sammy Simpson, the Program Director of Mix.

We hit it off immediately, and after a two hour visit he invited me to come back anytime I liked. I took him up on the offer, and spent nearly every weekday evening at the radio station. Sammy hosted the night show at Mix, as well as holding down PD honors. I became fast friends with both Sammy and Shane.

I felt within the small, musky smelling walls of that tiny building, that I had found a place where I felt comfortable, and somewhere I belonged. It felt like home, like I had found what I had been looking for.

I didn’t feel the need to try to be cool, or popular like I did for the majority of my days at school. I was immediately accepted for who I was by people I admired immensely. In short, when I was there… I finally found a place where I WAS cool.

In just a couple of months I was working part time at the sister AM station, helping run NC State games on AM1460 WEWO. I also did whatever else they needed me to do. I cleaned my share of toilets and even used the weed eater a few times outside of the station. I didn’t mind as much then. I had found my calling, my passion and what I felt like I was meant to do.

My love for radio grew deeper as I learned more about what went on behind the scenes, on the other side of what had been a close childhood friend.

My love of broadcasting grew even deeper while at school. My favorite class was my Video Production class. The teacher who taught the class was Bob Bierbaum. He was hands down, my favorite teacher in HS. He helped me grow my imagination and creative side by supporting many of my ideas. Every day at school, we had daily announcements broadcast via television to each classroom. Mr. Beirbaum knew of my new found passion for broadcasting, and soon after appointed me one of the head anchors for ‘Scotland Today‘.

I tried to bring a sense of humor to the show, and a little bit of personality. A lot of what I learned from the station, just by watching Sammy do his night show, I copied and tried to implement onto the Scotland Today show. It was my favorite hour of the day while at school.

One assignment we had during VP class was to make our own music video. We could use whatever song we liked, and shoot in whatever format we liked. My friend Steve McNair (not to be confused with late Titan QB Steve McNair) and I came up with a great idea. We chose the song “Round the Way Girl” by LL Cool J (again, remember…. it was the early 90′s).

The format we chose was simple. We would take the video camera around and video tape various hot girls and use that as footage for the music video. So in other words, Mr Bierbaum allowed us to roam the halls of HS with a video camera, shooting hot girls, for credit. Is there any doubt why I loved this guy?

It is amazing how friendly popular girls become when you put a camera in front of them. Girls that never would have given me the time of day, suddenly were more than friendly to me (as long as I had the camera in my hands). I don’t think it was just because they wanted to be seen in the video, I really think (looking back), that by doing the project, it gave me more confidence in some way, and that made me more appealing.

Well that, plus teenage girls LOVE posing for a camera.

Regardless, the project was huge success. We got shots of every pretty girl imaginable in our school.

Every girl, but one.

Somehow, I didn’t get a shot of Megan Alba Biel. I tried a few times, but she kept turning away from the camera. I could not do a project featuring all of the pretty girls from SHS, and not include her. I eventually got a distant shot of her, but nothing close up.

She was self conscious for some reason, though I never could figure out why. In my eyes, she set the mark for everything and anyone that was beautiful.

After HOURS of staying after school and editing numerous tapes, we turned in our project. What started out be something silly and fun, turned into something that was time consuming and at times difficult. But in the end, the finished project was something we were proud of.

In the process, we learned a lot about all aspects of shooting, editing, and overdubbing video. Mr. Bierbaum taught us that by having fun, we can still learn.  Anything worth being proud of rarely comes easy.

 It was one of the many life lessons I learned from him. He never will fully comprehend the influence he had on me as a teen. I hear that not long after I graduated, he gave up teaching and went to Law School. That is a shame. The world has WAY too many lawyers, but way to few of good teachers. Bob Bierbaum was a great teacher.

Before I knew it, the school year was almost at it’s mid point and it was almost time to take the SAT’s.

Now contrary to what may be somewhat popular belief… I was NOT a nerd in school.

You see, nerds actually made good grades. Thus, I was not a nerd.

 School bored me to tears, and I simply did not apply myself like I should have. My grades were shaky at best, and my parents were concerned. So, before I took my SAT’s, they made me go to tutoring on a couple of Saturdays.

They held the radio station over my head, and told me if I didn’t apply myself, then I would have to quit the station and not be allowed to hang out there anymore after school. Thus, I went to Saturday tutoring.

The first Saturday came and went, and I really did try hard... but a lot of stuff still seemed over my head. We were seated two to a table, and the teacher passed out worksheets for me and my partner to go over. I had a hard time concentrating on stuff that I didn’t understand, and I daydreamed through the stuff that I deemed too easy (not unlike any other day at school for me). After three hours, I left feeling pretty bad about myself. I was concerned about the upcoming test, and I dreaded coming back the following week to do it all over again.

The following week, I went back to the same classroom, with the same teacher, and sat in the same seat. The only difference was, there were all different students in the class. I was the only repeat offender apparently. The other seat across from me remained empty until about three minutes until the class started.

Then my table partner finally arrived.

She sat across from me, and asked for a pencil.

 I reached into my back pack and gladly obliged.

I handed a yellow #2 pencil with hardly any eraser left… to Megan Alba Biel.