(IJCH) A 1960's Drawing Contest, a Raw Deal, and a Loving Father (or How I won a drawing contest, then got Unfairly Disqualified!)
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (Meaning: My Warped, Personal Opinions and Musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!
For my returning online friends, "It's always great to see you again!"
A 1960's Drawing Contest, a Raw Deal, and a Loving Father (or How I won a drawing contest, then got Unfairly Disqualified!)
An old, faded, almost non-existent sketch I drew when I was a little kid made me remember the following experience...
You see, I used to draw and paint a lot when I was younger.
And I know most of you are probably much too young to be familiar with the "Draw Me" contest ads in the old comic books and magazines of the 1960s, but one time I entered the monthly contest and won it!
But later, the judges rescinded the award because they deemed my submission as being "too sophisticated" for such a young child and promptly disqualified me!
In other words, since the contest was strictly for young amateurs, they thought I was already a working artist and was cheating!
To top it off, the judges and sponsors' decision was final - no recourse whatsoever for contestant grievances!
I was sooooo pissed-off that I broke all my pencils, dumped/destroyed all my pigment (paint) tubes, tore up my sketchpads, slashed all my "never finished" paintings, etc. and tossed them in the garbage!
And I swore I would let the world know what a dishonest bunch of scumbags the drawing contest judges and sponsors were!
(Unfortunately, back then there was no internet; meaning, I was SOL [Shit Out of Luck]!)
I balled up the original ad for the contest entry and shouted,"How dare those crooked adults pick on a little kid like me! I'll show them!"
But I was alone in the house, so my screams were only heard by my bedroom walls.
After awhile I got depressed.
I realized, because I was just a kid, my chances of getting any retribution were slim to none; probably a million to one in the judges and sponsors' favor - and would probably cost that much to even try.
When my father arrived home from work, he discovered the piles of broken art supplies surrounding our trash bins. Then he painstakingly sifted through the discarded mess and retrieved everything salvageable.
Then he sat me down and explained that I should take the judges' reaction as the best form of praise and admiration, albeit indirectly.
Somehow, after talking with my Dad, the disqualification and desire for revenge/justice didn't matter anymore.
What mattered most to me was that my Dad understood what happened, was still very proud of my efforts, and most of all, always made me feel that I was unconditionally loved - no matter what.
Yes, my late father was a great Dad and a very, very wise man.
And everyday, when I think about him, I close my eyes and exhale a long, smiling sigh.
Parting Shots
By JaiChai
Mighty Kind of You for stopping by.
Truly hope to see you again!
About the Author
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.
