It's such an exquisite joy to learn an embarrassing secret about the past life of one of your closest friends, isn't it? Why do we delight in seeing a picture of someone we deeply love and respect -- back when he or she was 12 years old, wearing braces, and holding up a beloved poster featuring the New Kids on the Block? Why do we smile so broadly (and share so willingly) about an absurd childhood obsession or experience -- even if it's something like collecting "Garbage Pail Kids" trading cards, or roller-skating backwards, or holding some obscure title in the Guiness Book of World Records? Why is this? This, to me is one of the great mysteries of life...

All of this just goes to say that I've been infinitely fascinated to learn the colorful history of my dear friend and co-pastor, Todd Watkins (a.k.a. T.T. Watkins, a.k.a. TW, a.k.a. T-dubs)... Or should I say, "Twinkle-Toes Watkins?"

Just a few weeks ago, Todd and I were casually chatting at the H88 -- then, whether from boredom or simple joie-de-vivre, Todd busted out this rather remarkable tap-dance maneuver. I laughed and clapped at his spontaneous burst of kinetic expression and said something to the effect of, "Wow, that looked surprisingly professional!" Todd laughed too and then kind of wiggled his eyebrows mysteriously and said something like, "If only you knew..." His remark was meant to be something of a joke, but there was something in his tone that made me wonder if there might be more of a story behind it. So I kept asking questions, pulling the story out of Todd piece by piece. And in the end, I was simply amazed by what I learned about my friend.

One of the things that I really like about Todd is his humility. He's really a very remarkable person, but he doesn't flaunt it. He doesn't feel some insecure need to regale you with stories about his illustrious talents and life experiences. But if you get down to it, asking specific questions about a specific area of Todd's life, he will slowly bring you in on his life story (smiling in such a way that you know that he is secretly, though appropriately, proud of his past acheivements), and you can learn that he is truly one of a kind. As it turns out, Todd was actually a childhood tap-dancing prodigy! He was classically trained in a number of different kinds of dance, but apparently he showed a special aptitude for tap. And as he developed his skills as a six-year-old, seven-year-old, eight-year-old, he became something of a national sensation for a time in the early 1980s.

Big stars like Sammy Davis Jr. and Ben Vereen performed live with my friend, the child prodigy, on Broadway stages and on the Silver Screen in films which have, apparently, become cult classics for those in the tap-dancing subcultures of the world. I guess Todd made the circuit of the television networks' morning shows at one point, and even appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson! Do you maybe remember Savion Glover -- a kid who often appeared and exhibited his own tap-dancing skills on Sesame Street during the 1980s and 1990s? Apparently, he's a personal acquaintance (and once something of a rival) of our own Todd Watkins! Isn't that crazy!?!? You think you know a guy... and then you go and learn something totally unexpected about him!

Hoax or not? I don't really know. Even now, when talking about it with Todd, there's something about his mannerisms and his tone that makes me alternate between completely believing his story and completely questioning it. But as I've searched the internet a little bit and checked out some of the background facts, it seems that enough checks out to at least make the story credible. And you know, it's just one of those things that sounds almost too crazy to be made up! In any event, all I know is that I've attained a whole new level of respect for my friend and co-pastor: the great Twinkle-Toes Watkins.