By Jerome LeDoux
Contributing Columnist
Many moons ago, the
Provincial from our SVD
Southern Province entered the
large reception room of a hall
where a meeting was to take
place. Looking ahead, he spied a
nun sitting at the receptionist’s
desk. She appeared to give him a
big wink. He looked down, think-
ing to himself. As he drew near-
er, she appeared to give him
another wink. At that point, he
decided to wink back with his
rendition of a big wink.
With no place to run and hide in
shame, to his utter dismay and
supreme embarrassment, he saw
her wink again, displaying every
symptom and removing all doubt
that she suffered from a facial tic
or some form of dystonia that
affected one side of her face,
causing the winking of an eye.
This can be a disorder totally
beyond the control of the afflict-
ed person, affecting one’s face,
eyes, neck, jaw, lips, tongue,
throat or other body part by caus-
ing muscle spasms.
However, in some cases a tic
can be brought about by negative
stress. Not in any recent decade,
but some 45 years ago my left
eye would develop a temporary
tic whenever I became too
intensely involved in something
for a prolonged period of time.
This happened only about four
times that I can recall.
Eventually, I learned to deflect
the onslaught of negative stress
by consciously relaxing my mind
and body.
Being uptight has so many
forms, indications, manifestations,
pretenses and hiding places that we
are often the last to know whether
we are uptight or not, let alone to
what degree. Being uptight and
discerning whether we are uptight
has much to do with our recently-
discussed self-knowledge, so diffi-
cult to pinpoint.
It can be argued that we get
uptight mainly because we do not
know ourselves. In the void and
semi-vacuum of poor self-knowl-
edge, nervousness, insecurity and a
self-defensive attitude quickly
materialize and take over, so that it
becomes very difficult to relax and
feel comfortable in our conversa-
tions, our social encounters, and
storytelling of our history, recre-
ation, civic and sundry activities.
We can take courage in our per-
sonal, even private lives by the
surprising cases of public per-
sonalities, some of them even
world-beaters in their profes-
sion. If it happens even to such
luminaries, our case is not sur-
prising and it is remediable.
After making dozens of high-
caliber movies, actress Audrey
Hepburn and the entire cast of a
movie being made in Africa
became uptight together as the
operation ground to a halt.
Questions and rumors flew for
long, anxious minutes until the
hitch was finally traced to a total-
ly unexpected source: stage fright
by Audrey Hepburn. At any
moment, even after years of expe-
rience and confidence, things can
go sour. We must simply learn to
take in stride whatever blip
appears on our radar. And smile!
Which brings us to the killer
venue for most people: public
presentations, whether public
speaking, public singing, dramat-
ic acting, world-class competi-
tions in sports or music. While
most tend to wilt and underper-
form under such pressure, scintil-
lating megastars like Michael
Jordan and Michael Jackson
breathe it, eat it, drink it, live for
it, creating their very best at those
moments of greatest adversity.
World-class performers Bo
Jackson and Jesse Owens over-
came severe stuttering so that
there
was
nary a trace
after they
had worked
hard at it.
Jesse Owens
even became
a
sought-
after motiva-
tional speak-
er and sports
ambassador. We all know that the
stuttering did not dull their per-
formance. From TV interviews,
the number of shy sports superstars
is nothing short of staggering.
A startling number of world-
famous people turn out to be shy.
President John Kennedy is one
of the most-mentioned, although
it is obvious that being shy was
no obstacle to sterling perform-
ances on the trigger-nervous
stage of global politics.
Some folks are uptight because
they are so often depressed.
Abraham Lincoln and Winston
Churchill suffered from chronic
clinical depression, but did not
let that interfere with their polit-
ical dominance. However, it
seems that Winston Churchill
would not have been able to
manage sans daily bottles of
brandy and champagne.
Dramatic actor Richard Burton
got so wound up that he often
had to be massaged before a
stage performance and some-
times had to be pushed onto the
stage. And imagine, someone
said, “He has the most incredible
pipes for speaking.”
“I’m all shook up!” About as
many high-strung as low-strung
people say that or something
similar as they try to unwind
themselves from feeling “as tight
as a drum.” Know yourself.
Accept yourself, but always try
to become better, to be all that
you can be. With Philippians
4:13, “I can do all through him
who enables me.”◊
LEDOUX
Page 8
February 8 - February 14, 2016
THE LOUISIANA WEEKLY -
YOUR MULTICULTURAL MEDIUM
ou mean you are still uptight about life?
Latest in U.S. Postal Service Forever stamp features Richard Allen
Preacher, activist and civic
leader Richard Allen is the face
of the United States Postal
Service’s 39th Black Heritage
Commemorative Forever stamp
which was dedicated earlier this
month at a ceremony held in
Philadelphia, Pa. at Mother
Bethel
African
Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Allen is the founder and first
bishop of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church which is cele-
brating its 200th anniversary.
“Richard Allen was a man of
boundless stature, courage and
determination.
The
Postal
Service is pleased to dedicate
this special commemorative
Forever stamp in his honor,” said
Postal Service Vice President of
the Eastern Area Operations
Joshua D. Colin.
“Frederick Douglas and later
Martin Luther King Jr., both said
that they were influenced by
how Bishop Allen seemed to
channel a higher power to work
through him to shepherd Blacks
through some of this country’s
darkest days. I hope this stamp
will inspire every American to
learn more about this uplifting
man,” he continued.
After making a name for him-
self as a traveling minister
throughout the Mid-Atlantic,
Allen was asked to preach to his
fellow African Americans at a
Methodist
church
in
Philadelphia. He quickly rose to
prominence as a civic leader, co-
founding an organization to help
African-American neighbors in
need,
rallying
black
Philadelphians to serve as aid
workers during a yellow fever
epidemic in 1793 and preparing
the Black community to defend
the city during the War of 1812.
Eager to establish an inde-
pendent
African-American
church, Allen purchased an old
blacksmith’s shop and moved it
to land he owned at Sixth and
Lombard Streets. Bethel Church
was dedicated in 1794 and soon
attracted hundreds of members,
but Allen spent years in conflict
with white church leaders who
sought to assert their control. At
one point, they tried to sell the
building out from under him, but
as a successful businessman,
Allen was able to buy it back at
auction. After a campaign that
included sit-ins by African
Americans and a judgment by the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,
the congregation secured its
independence. In 1816, Allen
summoned
other
Black
Methodist
leaders
to
Philadelphia, where together
they founded the African
Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.)
Church, electing and consecrat-
ing Allen as its first bishop.
The Postal Service began is Black
Heritage Stamp series in 1978.
Abolitionist Harriet Tubman graced
the inaugural stamp.
Other African Americans hon-
ored in the Black Heritage stamp
series include Martin Luther
King, Jr., Benjamin Banneker,
Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Mary
McLeod Bethune, Langston
Hughes, Thurgood Marshall,
Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson,
Hattie McDaniel, Ella Fitzgerald,
John H. Johnson, Barbara Jordan
and Shirley Chisholm.◊
