TALKING BACKWARDS

Back in 1979, there was a TV show called "Real People." It was a really cool show featuring people doing amazing things - stunts and such. At the time, I was living in Manitowoc.

One night the show featured a guy who could talk backwards. His name was "Uncle Backwards" or something like that. I'm sure that wasn't his birth name though. Anyway, around that same time (probably shortly after the show) there was a small article in the newspaper about talking backwards. According to the article, people weren't supposed to be able to do that. In fact, the article said that if you knew someone who could, they wanted you to call the phone number they provided.

Well, I can talk backwards. At the time, I was a little kid. But I had been talking backwards for fun, for several years. I used to do it for my friends at school. They'd get a big kick out of it. My parents new of this talent of mine, and called the number. As it turned out, the person I spoke to on the phone were affiliated with the guy I'd seen on TV. In fact, they even let me talk to him for a few minutes.

A few weeks later, these two guys flew to Wisconsin to interview me for some sort of magazine or study. They brought tape recorders and put me through a bunch of tests to gauge my abilities. Apparently there was one other person somewhere in the country they went to see as well. They wanted to compare and contrast our "styles." It was all kind of weird to me. But it was kind of cool too. Our time together lasted a couple of hours. And that was it. There was to be no fame or fortune for me.

A year or two later, another TV show came on the air. This show was called "That's Incredible" - which was basically a carbon copy of "Real People." And lo and behold, that "Uncle Backwards" guy appeared on their show as well.

Then when I was in 8th grade, out of the blue, the two guys who had interviewed me years earlier, somehow tracked me down again. We were living in Two Rivers at that time. They wanted to fly in again and interview me. So they did. This time I taped it as well. I still have the tape. They even showed me the magazine that I had appeared in. They spent about 90 minutes with me, then left. I've not heard from them since.

When I was a junior in high school, Meff and I were talking on the phone one night. And I was telling him about my ability to talk backwards. He was a bit skeptical. Then again, he's skeptical about most things. So he challenged me. He asked me to not only say, but to actually sing the entire Flintstones' theme - backwards. Well, I guess I was up for the challenge. With no practice at all, I breezed through the entire song, in the proper time as well. When it was all said and done, he was laughing his ass off and telling me how amazing that was.

This is a true story. Maybe I should film myself singing the Flintstones' theme backwards once again, and put it in Youtube. What a trip! I think I will.