New Clay Article...What Do You Think?

Clay Aiken Forum

Clay just “Rolling” along


Okay, now that the Rolling Stone interview with Clay has been out for weeks, and I am sure that thousands or even millions have read it by now, what have we learned about our man Clay?

First off, let’s start with the cover shoot. WOW! Just when we thought we had seen the full complete transformation of Clay from “ugly duckling” to “handsome prince” on American Idol, Rolling Stone kicks it up a notch and gives us Clay Aiken: Sex Symbol. What’s that sound I’m hearing? Thousands of girls and women fainting! When I brought the Rolling Stone issue home and showed it to my 42-year young wife, she looked at it like it was the centerfold in Playgirl! Her reaction was simply “Mmm, doesn’t he look yummy!”, and I can’t really tell you what she said after that! Let’s just say that it sure didn’t sound like her “mothering instincts” were coming out. Now that Clay is a sex symbol on top of everything else, what’s a guy supposed to do? The “Clay is gay” crowd is probably really hoping that they are right in the worst way now because the salivating frenzy by millions of admiring female fans around the world will be relentless and unbearable!

And speaking of the gay issue, man, let it go already! I'll take Clay at his word unless he says differently. Quite frankly, even if he were gay, I wouldn't give a rat's patootie. I love his voice and personality and that's what it's all about. Let's face it, in our society, if you are deemed effeminate or a "pretty boy" you are accused of, and labeled as, being gay. How many in the limelight have been accused of being gay from jealous husbands and boyfriends that can’t stand their wives and girlfriends going gaga over some hot star? Grow-up gentlemen! Besides, in this day-and-age it should be a non-issue. Did Elton John lose fans when he came out? Did Johnny Mathis lose popularity? Did anyone care that Freddy Mercury of Queen was openly gay? When Mick Jagger and David Bowie spoke openly of their bi-sexual exploits, did anyone really care? No, because it does not matter. You either like the performer and what they have to offer or you don't. Besides, forgive me for using a stereotype, but what self-respecting gay guy hates cats anyway? There's your proof right there! (grin)

Oh yeah, the dislike of cats thing. I’ve already seen this used against Clay. “Clay the cat killer” “Clay the cat hater” Well my take on it is quite simple. Based on what I read in the interview, this is basically a very strong reaction to a horrific and traumatic experience that he had in his life and, to be cliché, he still has “unresolved issues” over it. Hey, everybody handles bad emotional experiences differently, and the way I see this, his kind and compassionate heart couldn’t handle what happened, so his defense mechanism created this strong aversion towards cats in general. (Okay Clay, you can get off my psychoanalyst’s couch now.) My only advice to Clay, seeing that most of his fan base is comprised of tender caring persons of the fairer sex, is to find another way to express that aspect of himself, one that doesn’t sound so harsh, like “Even though I’m not very fond of cats, I care for all animals.” There now, that’s better!

Toenail biting? We all have some quirky habit we have carried over from childhood. I personally have a 42-year-old habit of chewing my fingers that for the life of me I can’t seem to stop. When I am stressed, I just start doing it without even thinking. I don’t know if Clay’s habit falls under that category, but again, I don’t care, and it’s probably something he can stop doing (which he already stated that he has done). This little revelation about him just shows us one more time that he is human, just like all of us, with his own set of foibles and follies; and do we not find this even more endearing of him? Of course, that’s part of his charm! He’s so real, so human to all of us. No false airs here. There’s no pretense in his presentation of his personality to the public. He is open to all, good, bad, or indifferent.

The last revelation worth mentioning about him is his “bio-dad”, the sperm donor. Clay, for obviously very good reasons, abhors this man and makes no bones about his distaste regarding him and his detestable behaviors during Clays’ formative years. There is no forgiveness in Clay for what this man has done to both he and his mother. But, Clay does wear the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelet all the time, so his spiritual commitment and devotion is clearly evident to be paramount in his life, and in light of that I do see a time in the future when Clay will search his heart, pray upon this issue, and find a time and place to forgive this man. But in the meantime, Clay has the right to feel and think what he does regarding that situation and I support him where now stands on it. I just know that Clay, being who he is, will not go to his grave with this; and dear Clay, if you ever get to read this, take it from an older guy (47) who has been through a lot of his own personal traumas and deep hurts inflicted by others in his life, there will be a time when you forgive; and when you do, my friend, you will feel a weight lift off your heart and your spirit will soar; your soul will be cleansed and you’ll feel like you can walk on air! Just keep this in mind: Forgiveness is more for you than it is for him. Forgiveness does not have to be a welcome mat for him to come back into your life. Au contraire, it is simply something that releases the burden of the pain, anger and resentment off of your conscience and out of your life; so forgive, bless, and move on.

In all, if the worst things to come out of that article are an aversion to cats and toenail biting, than I say “Thank god!” In my mind, the interview was very good and showed us once again how genuinely personable and open Clay is and how willing he is to share himself with all of us. This quality in him can come from either naïveté, nonchalance, or a devil-may-care attitude, but personally, I believe Clay does care about what is said about him, he just doesn’t allow that to stop him from speaking his thoughts and feelings freely, and that comes from an even greater character quality: Courage! A courage that comes from him being completely confident and self-assured in who he is as a person, living without fear, living his life in faith! Whatever the case may be, I’m just glad that he does share of himself, for how many times did we hear Simon or the other judges say to a contestant, “You’re a good performer, but we don’t know who you are because you aren’t sharing yourself”? Well, I know one thing for sure; we will never be able to say, “Clay, we hardly knew ye.” (Thank God!)

August 4, 2003

W. Scott Pavone

(Please tell me any grammitcal errors you find or other comments that you may have on this)

Thanks

Anything that's blue is a section where I editted something. It's really a good article but I can't control myself forgive me !

.........................
Originally posted by cheetah222
Clay just “Rolling” along

Okay, now that Clay's Rolling Stone feature article has been out for weeks, and I am sure that thousands or even millions have read it by now, what have we learned about our man Clay?

Deleted words "First off" Let’s start with the cover shoot. WOW! Just when we thought we had seen the full complete transformation of Clay from “ugly duckling” to “handsome prince” on American Idol, Rolling Stone kicks it up a notch and gives us Clay Aiken: Sex Symbol. What’s that sound I’m hearing? The "thud" as thousands of females hit the floor in a dead faint ?

When I brought the Rolling Stone issue home and showed it to my 42-year young wife, she looked at it like it was the centerfold in Playgirl! Her reaction was simply “Mmm, doesn’t he look yummy!”, and I can’t really tell you what she said after that! Let’s just say that it sure didn’t sound like her “mothering instincts” were coming out.
Now that Clay is a sex symbol on top of everything else, what’s a guy supposed to do?

The “Clay is gay” crowd is probably really hoping that they are right in the worst way now because the salivating frenzy by millions of admiring female fans around the world will be relentless and unbearable!

And speaking of the gay issue, man, let it go already! I'll take Clay at his word unless he says differently. Quite frankly, deleted words "even if he were gay,"I don't give a rat's patootie. His voice and personality are what it's all about.

Let's face it, in our society, how you look can get you labeled as a pretty boy or being gay. How many in the limelight have been labeled as gay by jealous ( and insecure !) husbands and boyfriends that can’t stand their wives and girlfriends going gaga over some hot star? Grow-up gentlemen!
Besides, it should be a non-issue. Did Elton John lose fans when he came out? Did Johnny Mathis lose popularity? Did anyone care that Freddy Mercury of Queen was openly gay? When Mick Jagger and David Bowie spoke openly of their bi-sexual exploits, did anyone really care? No, because it does not matter. You either like the performer and what they have to offer or you don't.

Besides, forgive me for using a stereotype, but what self-respecting gay guy hates cats anyway? There's your proof right there! (grin)

Oh yeah, the dislike of cats thing. I’ve already seen this used against Clay. “Clay the cat killer” “Clay the cat hater” Well my take on it is quite simple. Based on what I've read, this is just a very strong reaction to a horrific, traumatic experience. To be cliché, he still has “unresolved issues” over it.
Hey, everybody handles bad emotional experiences differently, and the way I see this, his kind and compassionate heart couldn’t handle what happened, so his defense mechanism created this strong aversion towards cats in general. (Okay Clay, you can get off my psychoanalyst’s couch now.)
My only advice to Clay, seeing that most of his fan base is comprised of tender caring persons of the fairer sex, is to find another way to express that aspect of himself, one that doesn’t sound so harsh, like “Even though I’m not very fond of cats, I care for all animals.” There now, that’s better!

Toenail biting? We all have some quirky habit we have carried over from childhood. I personally have a 42-year-old habit of chewing my fingers that for the life of me I can’t seem to stop. When I am stressed, I just start doing it without even thinking. I don’t know if Clay’s habit falls under that category, but again, I don’t care, and it’s something he has said he stopped doing. This little revelation about him just shows us one more time that he is human, just like all of us, with his own set of foibles and follies; and do we not find this even more endearing ? deleted words "of him"

Of course ! Much of his charm is that he’s so real, so human to all of us. No false airs; no pretense in his public personality. He is open to all, good, bad, or indifferent.

The last revelation worth mentioning about him is his “bio-dad”, the sperm donor. Clay, abhors this man with good reason and makes no bones about it and how it affected his formative years. At this time, Clay can't find forgiveness for what this man has done to him and his mother. But, Clay does wear a WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelet all the time which leaves the door open. His faith is paramount in his life. In light of that I see a time in the future when Clay will search his heart, pray, and find a time and place to forgive this man.

But in the meantime, Clay has the right to feel and think what he does regarding that situation and I support his current stand on it.

I just know that Clay, being who he is, will not go to his grave with this; and dear Clay, if you ever get to read this, take it from an older guy (47) who has been through a lot of his own personal traumas and deep hurts inflicted by others in his life, there will be a time when you forgive; and when you do, my friend, you will feel a weight lift off your heart and your spirit will soar; your soul will be cleansed and you’ll feel like you can walk on air!

Just keep this in mind: Forgiveness is more for you than it is for him. Forgiveness does not have to be a welcome mat for him to come back into your life. Au contraire, it is simply something that releases the burden of the pain, anger and resentment off of your conscience and out of your life; so forgive, bless, and move on.

In all, if the worst things to come out of that Rolling Stone article are an aversion to cats and toenail biting, then I say “Thank God !”

The interview was very good and showed us once again how genuinely personable and open Clay is and how willing he is to share himself. This quality in him may come from naïveté, nonchalance, or a devil-may-care attitude, but personally, I believe Clay does care about what is said about him, he just doesn’t allow that to stop him from speaking his thoughts and feelings freely, and that comes from an even greater character quality: Courage!

A courage that comes from being completely confident and self-assured in who he is as a person, living without fear, living his life in faith! Whatever the case may be, I’m just glad that he does share of himself, for how many times did we hear Simon or the other judges say to a contestant, “You’re a good performer, but we don’t know who you are because you aren’t sharing yourself”?

Well, I know one thing for sure; we will never be able to say, “Clay, we hardly knew ye.” (Thank God!)

August 4, 2003

W. Scott Pavone

(Please tell me any grammitcal errors you find or other comments that you may have on this)


Thanks
...................

As said, it's a great article but sorry ... I just can't resist editting.

Cheetah ... I hope you're still "speaking" to me

I am presuming that you will be submitting this somewhere and I hope the "blue pencil" has given you some ideas to improve an already good piece.

I just pared it down a little, and only changed what I thought sounded a little repetitive and took out the word "accused" with regard to the gay issue. Accused makes it sound like a crime

You are a very good writer. In particular because reading what you write puts your voice and state of mind in the readers' heads. Know what I mean ? Reading you sounds like LISTENING to someone SPEAKING. One can almost feel your excitement about the subject and easily shares your tongue-in-cheek humor. There's no beating that quality/talent.

By the way, I was being truthful about my lack of control. I have done so much editing and coaching that I do it without thinking. Hope it's ok !

No apologies needed. This is exactly what I was looking for! It's always good to get an outside opinion. I look at it and tweek it as much as I can, but I can't see it as objectively as you would be able to reading it fresh.

Thanks for your input. I really apreciate it.

Clay just “Rolling” along

Okay, now that Clay's Rolling Stone feature article has been out for weeks, and I am sure that thousands or even millions have read it by now, what have we learned about our man Clay?

Let’s start with the cover shoot. WOW! Just when we thought we had seen the full complete transformation of Clay from “ugly duckling” to “handsome prince” on American Idol, Rolling Stone kicks it up a notch and gives us Clay Aiken: Sex Symbol. What’s that sound I’m hearing? The "thud" as thousands of females hit the floor in a dead faint!

When I brought the Rolling Stone issue home and showed it to my 42-year young wife, she looked at it like it was the centerfold in Playgirl! Her reaction was simply “Mmm, doesn’t he look yummy!”, and I can’t really tell you what she said after that! Let’s just say that it sure didn’t sound like her “mothering instincts” were coming out.

Now that Clay is a sex symbol on top of everything else, what’s a guy supposed to do? The “Clay is gay” crowd is probably really hoping that they are right in the worst way now because the salivating frenzy by millions of admiring female fans around the world will be relentless and unbearable!

And speaking of the gay issue, man, let it go already! I'll take Clay at his word unless he says differently. Quite frankly, gay or not, I don't give a rat's patootie. His voice and personality are what it's all about.

Let's face it, in our society, you get judged on your looks and mannerisms, so if you are perceived as being effeminate in any way, you get labeled as being gay. How many in the limelight have been labeled as gay by jealous (and insecure!) husbands and boyfriends that can’t stand their wives and girlfriends going gaga over some hot star? Grow-up gentlemen!

Actually, it should be a non-issue. Did Elton John lose fans when he came out? Did Johnny Mathis lose popularity? Did anyone care that Freddy Mercury of Queen was openly gay? When Mick Jagger and David Bowie spoke of their bi-sexual exploits, did anyone really care? No, because it does not matter. You either like the performer and what they have to offer or you don't.

Besides, forgive me for using a stereotype, but what self-respecting gay guy hates cats anyway? There's your proof right there! (grin)

Oh yeah, the dislike of cats thing. I’ve already seen this used against Clay. “Clay the cat killer” “Clay the cat hater” Well my take on it is quite simple. Based on what I've read, this is just a very strong reaction to a horrific, traumatic experience. To be cliché, he still has “unresolved issues” over it. Hey, everybody handles bad emotional experiences differently, and the way I see this, his kind and compassionate heart couldn’t handle what happened, so his defense mechanism created this strong aversion towards cats in general. (Okay Clay, you can get off my psychoanalyst’s couch now.)

My only advice to Clay, seeing that most of his fan base is comprised of tender caring persons of the fairer sex, is to find another way to express that aspect of himself, one that doesn’t sound so harsh, like “Even though I’m not very fond of cats, I care for all animals.” There now, that’s better!

Toenail biting? We all have some quirky habit we have carried over from childhood. I personally have a 42-year-old habit of chewing my fingers that for the life of me I can’t seem to stop. When I am stressed, I just start doing it without even thinking. I don’t know if Clay’s habit falls under that category, but again, I don’t care, and it’s something he has said that he already stopped doing. This little revelation about him just shows us one more time that he is human, just like all of us, with his own set of foibles and follies; and do we not find this even more endearing? Of course we do, for much of his charm is that he’s so real, so human to all of us. No false airs; no pretense in his public personality. He is open to all, good, bad, or indifferent.

The last revelation worth mentioning about him is his “bio-dad”, the sperm donor. Clay abhors this man with good reason and makes no bones about it and how it affected his formative years. At this time, Clay can't find forgiveness for what this man has done to him and his mother. But, Clay does wear a WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelet all the time, which leaves the door to forgiveness open. His faith is paramount in his life, and in light of that I see a time in the future when Clay will search his heart, pray, and find a time and place to forgive this man.

But in the meantime, Clay has the right to feel and think what he does regarding that situation and I support his current stand on it.

I just know that Clay, being who he is, will not go to his grave with this; and dear Clay, if you ever get to read this, take it from an older guy (47) who has been through a lot of his own personal traumas and deep hurts inflicted by others in his life; there will be a time when you forgive; and when you do, my friend, you will feel a weight lift off your heart and your spirit will soar; your soul will be cleansed and you’ll feel like you can walk on air!

Just keep this in mind: Forgiveness is more for you than it is for him. Forgiveness does not have to be a welcome mat for him to come back into your life. Au contraire, it is simply something that releases the burden of the pain, anger and resentment off of your conscience and out of your life; so forgive, bless, and move on.

In all, if the worst things to come out of that Rolling Stone article are an aversion to cats and toenail biting, than I say “Thank God !”

The interview was very good and showed us once again how genuinely personable and open Clay is and how willing he is to share himself. This quality in him may come from naïveté, nonchalance, or a devil-may-care attitude, but personally, I believe Clay does care about what is said about him; he just doesn’t allow that to stop him from speaking his thoughts and feelings freely, and that comes from an even greater character quality: Courage!

A courage that comes from being completely confident and self-assured in who he is as a person, living without fear, living his life in faith! Whatever the case may be, I’m just glad that he does share of himself, for how many times did we hear Simon or the other judges say to a contestant, “You’re a good performer, but we just don’t know who you are because you aren’t sharing yourself”?

Well, I know one thing for sure; we will never be able to say, “Clay, we hardly knew ye.” (Thank God!)

August 4, 2003

W. Scott Pavone