When I was in elementary school, I took voice lessons from a man named Joe Kincaid. Joe gave these lessons at the school where I went. He was also the band director. There were many kids from the area that took lessons from him, several that didn’t attend our school. He had success with several soloists and vocal groups at area talent shows. Several times during the year, he would put on shows with all his students. The shows would usually begin and end with a larger production number where all the students sang together. Around 1970 when I was in second grade, the show included the medley Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In from the musical Hair. The recording by The 5th Dimension was a big hit at that time. Everyone in the show dressed in hippie costumes for the production.
Around this same time, the Kincaid studio participated in a benefit show for St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis. The show was done in a high school auditorium somewhere in Memphis. Our group performed Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In wearing our hippie costumes. My hippie clothes did not include shoes. I also performed without my glasses. I cannot see well without my glasses. We were backstage after our performance when Marlo Thomas made a special appearance at the show. Marlo Thomas is the daughter of Danny Thomas, famous actor and comedian in addition to being the founder of St. Jude. At that time, Marlo Thomas was starring in a popular television show called That Girl. When she was done, she was escorted through the crowd of hippies backstage. She walked right in front of me, almost stepping on my naked toes. This would be the only time there was a threat of injury during a celebrity encounter. And even though I knew she was coming my way, my sight was so bad that I wouldn’t have recognized her if I didn’t already know it was her.