Elliott – the Collegian
At this point in time it seems like the eighties flew by at
the speed of light, but at the time, it probably seemed like they would never
end. These were challenging years. The nest was emptying, and we were faced with
the business of guiding our offspring into adulthood. It’s a challenge when you have three
teenagers in your home at the same time. It was a wonderful time, but one that
I’m glad I don’t have to repeat.
As the decade began Elliott was in college, and had decided
to pursue a theater major. He
distinguished himself quite a bit in ACU productions, but we didn’t get to see
very many of them. Elliott distinguished
himself in his theater roles. Following
his portrayal of the villain in The
Crucible, the entertainment critic for the Abilene paper wrote, “Elliott
Bales ought to have a stake driven into his heart.” I guess he made a good bad guy. As a matter of fact he was so good that the
people who came back stage after the play to congratulate the cast wouldn’t
talk to him.
During the first two years he went to school on a
shoestring. He started out living with
Daddy, but then moved out the second year.
After Mama’s death he moved back in with Daddy, but then spent most of
the last year sleeping on a mattress in the basement of the Sewell
Theater. We tried to send him a little
money for incidental expenses, but it wasn’t much. He led singing for the church in Buffalo Gap,
and they paid him a little bit. He got a
job with a formal wear store, and in the last two years he was on scholarship
with the ROTC program at Hardin-Simmons. The ROTC experience changed the direction of
his life. His plans to act on Broadway
were derailed by a military career.
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