Screenland Plus TV-Land (Jul 1959 - May 1960)

TO THOSE seeking careers in show business, Pat advises "plain hard work." He and Frankie Avalon both straggled to get on top. will use the money to staff a new school near Philadelphia. Additional evidence that the book has been helpful conies in letters which indicate that kids are applying Pat's Do-ItYourself precepts of character building to their own lives. He cited one which read: "At times I feel my mother and father and sisters like me, but most of the time I don't believe that what my mother tells me would help me. I feel very unsure of myself because every time I open my mouth I put my foot in it. I am usually too scared to do or say anything. I can't get my mind down to my books because I am always thinking about my social life at home or in school. "I am afraid I will be out of school before I know how to handle myself. One day I am determined to get A's and B's so I can become a physical therapist and the next day I don't care what I get. Also I never know enough to keep quiet and think or do some kind of work. If somebody says anything, jokingly or not, I get mad and my feelings are hurt very easily. I usually go around with a chip on my shoulder and have an inferiority complex." IT seemed a formidable array of faults, but Pat grinned as he read the last line: "Well, I guess this just about brings most of my problems to a close." "There's an intelligent girl," said Pat. "All that ails her are the typical teenage symptoms of insecurity, restlessness, inconsistency and indecision. But she already has analyzed her failings. That's the first step toward correcting them. She's really written her own answer herself." Other letters aren't that easy, even when Pat has a direct precedent in his own life. An 18-year-old girl wrote him: "I like a certain boy very much and he knows it He says he loves me, also. I know you and Shirley married at 19, but I'm not sure of ourselves. My boy friend says he is going to move this winter. This means I would not see him for years. I think I should wait. Do you?" The problem was parallel to that which led to Pat's and Shirley's elopement. Shirley's mother had died and her father, entertainer Red Foley, had announced plans to move from Nashville, Tennessee, to Springfield, Missouri. Recollection of that crisis went into Pat's answer: "I do appreciate your problem. However, it is always difficult to give advice in situations where one does not know both parties involved. I'm sure you haven't made up your mind whether you really want to spend the rest of your life with this young man. It's a difficult decision to make. Although Shirley and I were married at 19, I do not advise early marriages. We were fortunate and things went our way, but we did struggle for a long time. I advise you to think a good deal about any step you're going to make because it is the most important step in your life. Good luck to you and we'll be praying for you." Why had Pat changed his position? He was thoughtful as he put the letter down. "I suppose it is because we hurt our parents so deeply. Eloping wasn't the right thing to do. I found out how my mother worried that day. It got later and later, and I still didn't come home. At last I gathered up nerve enough to phone her and say, 'You have a new daughter.' Mama took it just great. All she said was, 'When continued on page 66 13