Not everyone will need this in their lifetime, but we’ve all heard of the power of having that one person who believes in you when no one else does.
Comedian Damon Wayans was one of those people who needed a voice of reason and hope in his life. Throughout most of his life, he heard from teachers and even his guidance counselor that he would either “end up dead” or “end up in jail.” Talk about inspiring.
But there was one teacher who saw his potential. His seventh-grade science teacher, Mr. Friedman, believed that he had “a gift” for comedy and let him perform a stand-up comedy routine every Friday to give him a chance to practice.
While on tour promoting his new series, Poppa’s House, in which he’s starring alongside his son, Damon Wayans, Jr., the father and son duo accepted an interview on The Talk.
One of the hosts, Akbar Gbajabiamila, asked Wayans if there was a moment he knew he had “a gift for comedy.”
Wayans reflected:
“Well, I had a teacher in seventh grade named Mr. Friedman, who was the science teacher. One day, he was trying to explain inertia to the class.”
“I said, ‘Okay, Mr. Friedman, what happens when a fly flies into a train, and the train starts moving. Why doesn’t the fly smash into the back of the train?’”
“He tried to explain, and I said, ‘No, it didn’t land. It just started flying at the same speed.’”
“After class, he told me, ‘You stumped me.’ He said, ‘You have a gift.’ He said, ‘The problem is, I need to control the room. Because everybody listens to you. So I’m going to make a deal with you: On Fridays at 2:55 PM is your time to do whatever you want to say or do for five minutes.’”
“So I would shut my mouth so that I could perform. I would do impressions of him and all the other teachers.”
“He was the only one who said I had a gift. Everybody else said, ‘You’re going to be dead or in jail,’ including the guidance counselor.”
You can watch the segment here:
Some applauded the power found in good teachers.
Others applauded Wayans for persevering.
While the audience laughed about Wayans final comment, and he laughed along with them, there was weight to that statement.
Imagine how much weight that would put on a child’s shoulders—and then to finally hear something positive from one person and get a chance to perform.
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