I was never a prodigy. I was never a child genius.
When I was one day old, I learned how to read. When I was two days old, I started to write. By the time I was three, I had finished 212 short stories, 38 novels, 730 poems, and one very funny limerick, all before breakfast.
Unfortunately when you are a child prodigy there's very few that have made the transition into manhood. That's why I thank God for a full beard.
The name 'Wiz' comes from me being the youngest dude in my age group of people that I hung out with. I was pretty good at anything I tried to do, so they would call me a young wiz.
I know quite a few fellow members of the news analysis and commentary business, and I have it from the highest-placed sources, on the record, that each and every one of our children is a genius.
A prodigy to me is someone that is enormously gifted at a young age - to the point that people can't deny it. I think when you are a young kid and you are a prodigy, other parents, when their child is on your team, they aren't even mad that their kid isn't getting the shine because that other kid is special.
You could be a music prodigy at age 4, like Mozart, but you can't be a writing prodigy.
The word "prodigy" was thrown around a lot, but I didn't understand what that meant, or the weight of it. It didn't really mean anything to me, until I was older and could look back on it.
Everybody hates a prodigy, detests an old head on young shoulders.
There are lots of different interpretations of the word 'prodigy.' My own is of someone who is talented and tries to help other children. So in that respect I could be called one, although I don't think I'll go off the rails.
