“They’s more than one way to skin a cat” was an adage that was common back when the world and I were younger.  I often sat at my desk in school and pondered the validity of that statement, even though I had scant ambition to skin cats.  But the statement was always there in my scruffy little head when I ran out of things to ponder.  Which was alarmingly frequent.

Another vexing enigma to me was our pagan sacrifice of an innocent piglet when the first gust of north wind squeezed through the barbed wire fence that separates Texas from the North Pole.  It is reputedly located somewhere around Amarillo.

Anyways my sainted old daddy professed to the mastery of curing a ham to grace our table. And perpetuate our existence long before Global Warming was discovered.  Hugh averred that his method was the tried and true treatment for delicious cured ham.

Since I was not an addict of animal flesh the recipe was not entered into my diary for generations yet unborn, but those two legends on cat skinning and ham curing would sometimes give me pause and I would muse over the truth of the claims.

In the twilight of my seventh decade edification came my way and it was inspired by the actions and accomplishments of a young student in the De Leon educational system.  His mother who moonlights as his parent and Press Agent provided me with the details of his adventures just lately, and I am ready and willing to share them with a total stranger.  The lad’s name is Tyler and his publicist and mother is JoAnn McKinney.

Awhile back Tyler had occasion to perform at a Cheerleading Symposium over at SMU in Dallas, Texas and he won recognition as an All American Mascot for his “Benji, the Belly Dancing Bearcat”.  He was encased in the familiar Bearcat regalia of course and after the “Encores” and “Bravos” he emerged from those trappings via zipper escape hatches.  No skinning instrument was necessary and a bloodless second way to skin a cat was revealed to the audience at that SMU gathering.  And Tyler came down with a case of incurable Thespianism.

The infection took root in Tyler’s freshman year when he had a role in “Servant of Two Masters” and the malady became a permanent condition.  As a matter of fact, theater took a holt of Tyler and shows no sign of letting go.

The cast of “Beggars Opera” won District and advanced to the State completion.  That was De Leon’s first appearance in 27 years.  Tyler’s ability in the presentation won him recognition as Best Actor of Area, and he was invited to a 2½ week workshop at Trinity Valley Community College over in the piney woods of Athens.

He earned a two-year scholarship, which includes tuition and fees, to pursue his ambition in the actin’ bidness, and that award proved that my dad did not practice the ham curing craft by the only route available.

Tyler’s revelation of a second way to skin a cat and his curing out as a ham have eased my mind on the fact that cat skinning and ham curing are alive and well and the germ could be spreading at De Leon High School.

Let me hear from you.

My phone number is 254-893-5063.

My postal address is 333 W. Ayers, De Leon TX 76444.

You can e-mail me at Charles@CharlesChupp.com.