Jody Matzer:  

The year was 1983 and I had just graduated from Hermitage High School. OHMYGOD! I just realized! THAT was 25 years ago. Wow! How time flies! Consequently...have you been back to the ol' alma mater? The last time I was there there were metal detectors and security guards. It was quite a shock! And just for the record....if you're gonna body cavity search a guy-at least buy him a drink first!! Anyway, I enjoyed my summer of "HEY!-I-JUST-GRADUATED-HIGH-SCHOOL-Life-IS-GREAT-And-I'm-The-King-Of-The-World!" and prepared myself for my Fall of "HOLY-insert favorite bad word here-WHAT-DO-I-DO-NOW?!" VCU/Art School seemed the logical choice. Besides, NASA didn't want me. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready for the whole college experience and dropped out during my Freshman year. Dropped out of art school. Geez...looking back I gotta say-that was pretty lame. I was young and I was a punk. But hindsight is 20-20 isn't it? Even without that laser surgery. It just wasn't my time. Everything happens for a reason. I do believe that. So I decided to throw myself into LIFE. Hard. I would work and learn things and grow up and yada yada yada...didn't mean to get all "little house on the prairie" on you... I did have many life experiences during that period of my life and, happily, none of them included prison sentences in foreign lands! I worked in retail, managed video stores, waited tables, and hand-sculpted garden gnomes which I sold from a hot air balloon. Just seeing if you were really paying attention to any of this...the gnome thing wasn't true...as you were... In 1990, I decided to go back to VCU and pursue a Bachelor's degree. During my Freshman year I also became engaged. Ironic, isn't it? I was more grown up then my first time around and really excited about school. Oh. And my engagement! I graduated in 1994, with my degree, and my eyes full of hope and my heart full of love. Then I ran smack dab into that 5 foot thick concrete barricade called reality. I got married, moved to Tennessee (don't ask? I'm still not quite sure about that one) and struggled as a freelance illustrator. Thank God I had those waiting on table skills to fall back on! I did some magazine covers and managed to find work. After a few years my wife and I and our little dog Moses moved to Montana. Western Montana. Missoula to be exact. It's a big state. I wanted you to be able to zero in a little. Montana was great! A beautiful state! I loved it. Lots of good things happened. I got a lot of freelance illustration jobs and even won some awards for my work. And let's see... OH OKAY..let's get right to it! Yes! THAT was me you saw on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire with Regis Philbin. I was on for two nights and won some serious coin. And had a blast! It was SCHWEEEET! Some stats: I appeared on the first show where there were more women than men. (they actually thought there was even one more woman because of my name!) First guy named Jody on the show. First contestant from Montana. First contestant to write a book about the show. (it's on B&N.com and Amazon.com) Regis and I still write each other every now and then, and he always remembers me when I go back to NY. Post-game show life was not as happy. Here's comes the concrete barricade again! My book came out and pretty much nothing came of it. My dad bought 20. Thanks Dad. (there still in his garage under the collection of ties I have given to him as gifts) My first book signing was on September 11th. Yeah. That September 11th. (Timing is everything in publishing) The world grieved, I along with it, and Millionaire seemed a million light years away. Oh yeah! My marriage ended too! Stuff happens right? People grow apart. I wish her no ill will. Heck! She's probably the best attorney in Montana. (if you want to see how I really feel, go to my blog site: iwishshewouldbeeatenalivebysquirrels dot com) I'M KIDDING!! There's no bad feelings. There's no blog site. no squirrels......there's NOTHING!! IT'S JUST A VOID! An empty, cold, black......uh...oh...sorry.... Where was I? Oh yeah. Montana. Millionaire. My Marriage KAPUT! My MOVE... My divorce brought me back to Virginia of all places.. I lived in Charlottesville for a while up in the mountains then eventually made my way into town. I worked at the local newspaper, managed a movie theater and...Expand for more