He Was Going Somewhere, Part I

Jack and Oliver were identical twins, born way out there in Nebraska’s Sand Hills, from the beginning everybody said Jack was possessed of a remarkable will. They said his small town would not contain him, the country life was too small and too spare, Jack would make a splash wherever he went, that boy was really going somewhere. Jack was an irrepressible sort, he put on a show to all who would look on, won the lead spot in every school play, never missed his mark or got a line wrong. Oliver though, was much more down to earth, he thought all the dancing and singing silly, tended to keep all his thoughts to himself, felt no need to share his dreams freely. Jack graduated, handsome and popular, packed up his things and went off to L.A., Oliver only went down to Lincoln, in agriculture he got solid grades. In L.A. Jack auditioned for six months, when he landed his first commercial deal, that led to some parts in low-cost B-films, where every scene he was in he did steal. Meanwhile Oliver got himself a job selling equipment to ranchers out there, locals would compare him to his brother, sigh,”It’s a shame that he’s going nowhere.” At twenty-four Jack was cast in a sit-com, and was dating a singer, smoking hot, within a year the show topped the ratings, Jack and his young starlet tied the knot. Oliver then dated a bartender, she was cute, and at first kept things light, he put off marriage, he had to save up, had an idea for getting by in life. And when Jack came home the people came out, at the town’s pride they would all stop and stare, Oliver loved his brother, but halted folks whispering,”At least that one went somewhere.” Yes, Jack went and rode the Hollywood train, the next six year went by in a huge blur, his sit-com was picked up for syndication, he did four movies that paid high six-figures. But gravity truly is a heartless , and Jack was caught up in a torrid affair, the tabloids went nuts, ran page after page, and his star wife…she was soon out of there. Now Jack never shied away from drink, but the scandal pushed it out-of-control, half the time he was late for his shootings, on the sit-com it would soon take a toll. It managed to limp through one more season, but in the ratings it soon poorly fared, when it was cancelled the folks said,”Too bad, but at least Jack managed to get somewhere.” CONCLUDES IN PART II