MESA MUSINGS:

He saw something in me — a 17-year-old Costa Mesa High School senior — that I couldn’t see myself.

Don Miller cast me as a lead in our 1962 spring musical.

“You were an introvert,” Miller conceded as we ate breakfast together the other morning. It had been 47 years since we’d last seen each other. He’d spied my column in this space a couple of weeks back and gave me a call. “But, I loved your spirit, and you were willing to take risks.”

Miller was my English and journalism instructor at Mesa High, and one of the best teachers I ever had. He taught me the fundamentals of writing — a skill that propelled me through college and fueled my career.

We performed “High School Musical” decades before the show was a Disney hit. Our production was titled “An Extraordinary Guy.” Miller directed the show, and his creative writing class wrote the script. The score was by Duane Keith’s talented Mesa music students. The show revealed the Sturm und Drang of high school life, and was later produced by other schools.

I could have played the lead character, Herman, without batting an eye. He was me: socially awkward, a dork, with no hope of ever attracting a girlfriend. Our personalities matched to a T.

Problem was, the character had to sing 10 songs, and I can’t carry a tune.

So, Miller gambled and played against type. He cast me — the dorky introvert — as the second lead, George, a swaggering “player” who broke hearts and took names. George had one solo that he could belt rather than sing. That worked for me, but now I had to transform myself into “Joe Cool.” I had to learn to act.

The show was staged in OCC’s theater in April 1962. It proved so successful that it was extended for a second weekend.

After reminiscing about the musical the other day, Don and I caught up on the last 47 years.

Raised in Anaheim, he graduated from UCLA and worked summers as a soda jerk at the Jolly Roger on Balboa Island.

“The best job I ever had,” he laughs. “I made signature sundaes for Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Victor Mature and Ann Miller, who spent summers on the Island. I was a nerd, so being a summer soda jerk seemed glamorous.”

At age 28, Don opened Mesa High in 1958 and taught there through the mid-1960s. After teaching for two years at Cal State Fullerton, he started his own successful company that produced medical training films. He was a scriptwriter and producer for a dozen years.

“I have a short attention span,” he told me with a laugh. “I tend to start things, then move on.”

Don and his wife, Joan, a former Mesa High teacher, opened a restaurant in Big Sur and moved to Carmel. They were columnists for the local newspaper and opened a second restaurant. Life was good.

Don, now 79, relocated with Joan to Newport two years ago.

“We missed the sunshine,” he says. “Joan and I enjoy design and architecture, so we’re spending lots of time refurbishing our Newport Beach home.”

Though he does many things well — writing, producing, directing, managing, designing, and whipping up sundae masterpieces — what I appreciate most about Don is his passion for students.

He taught me how to write, and he also brought me out of my shell. I’m extraordinarily grateful.

It won’t be another 47 years before we get together again. We’re scheduled for breakfast Thursday morning.

JIM CARNETT lives in Costa Mesa. His column runs Wednesdays.