St. John's Confidential File

HELLO AMERICA!—During my stay at home, the world continued to twist and turn in every direction trying to escape the corona invasion. Then witnessing the horrifying scene of thousands of citizens attacking the Capitol was something unbelievable to witness. It was as if we were viewing a Hollywood film with tons of yelling, screaming, angry extras working had for...

UNITED STATES—Harlan said to Laurel, “They’re in.” She grabbed his arm. “Let me see.” He handed her the binoculars. “Here comes the tricky part, I hope this works.” She smiled. “I’ve got faith in them.” Shail said,  “Okay, let’s hook up.” They stood on either side of her. “Ready? On three. One… Two… THREE!” On three they bumped against her,...

UNITED STATES—“Laurel, how’re you doing?” He walked up to the car, leaned on the door, and then saw the cats. “Is this the one you’ve told me so much about?” “Yes, this is Samantha, and a couple of her friends.” He reached over Laurel. Samantha sniffed his hand, and licked it. Laurel’s expression changed. “Harlan, we need your help.” He...

UNITED STATES—“I’ll be damned, you really do understand.” She took the leash from her mouth. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to walk to my car, and when the coast is clear, I’ll motion for you to come.” She nodded. Laurel walked to her car, and opened the door. She looked around, saw it was clear, and waved...

UNITED STATES—The sound of heavy machinery woke the Mountain Lion up. Link noticed that Shail wasn’t next to him. He scrambled to his feet and moved cautiously towards the noise. Shail was at the cliff, watching as large machines leveled the next hill, the hill she had grown up on. Link walked up beside her, nudging her with his...

HELLO AMERICA!—It was back to the gossip world again, and I was ready. As soon as it was known that I was resuming my column, the phone began to ring off the wall. And that’s the way I liked it. Sonny King, a mutual friend and one of Elvis Presley’s bodyguards, called and gave me information about the rock...

HELLO AMERICA!—Indeed it was a new world to Jonathan. He was struck by the famed Hollywood sign. Just seeing it gave him a feeling of the reality of his arrival. The rain formed vertical lines on the car window, and he strained to see all the washed down pastel-colored stucco houses, flanking each side of the street. It was...

HELLO AMERICA!—After so many years after James Dean’s death, his fans have increased by the millions throughout the world. I was informed about a few young film writers who are meeting weekly to create a miniseries based on their idols' life. Since I met Jimmy in 1952, I managed to get to know him pretty well; I was interested...

HELLO AMERICA!—After escaping a brutal attack by the KKK while attending Earlham Collage in Richmond, Indiana, I felt extremely lucky to find a new home base at USC; not only that, meeting Sheridon Stokes in my class who was touted as one of the most gifted flute players in California. 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award Sheridon Stokes became the youngest contract musician...

HELLO AMERICA!—I have been receiving tons of letters from students begging for advice concerning what music schools to attend. Well, since I was fortunate to attend not only the USC music school, under Dr. Charles Hirt, later at UCLA and finally at Dominican University of California at San Rafael, it is very easy for me to recommend the following...