My parents raised me to be humble about my accomplishments. They wanted me to take an “aw shucks” attitude toward success and stardom.

Since embarking upon my journey toward adulthood, I think I have sufficiently failed at the concept of humility, and it takes some embarrassment to put me back on that level.

With the power of the Internet, one of my first videos on neighborsgo.com, starring gold medal Senior Olympic table tennis player May Day, has garnered almost 500 hits – a number equal to amount of times Mary clobbered me with her forehand.

I figured getting bullied by a 76-year-old was enough, but two weeks after Mary made the Web site, my ego was again put in check.

This time, Jack Foltyn, a Graceland-approved Elvis tribute artist, had fun smearing my face with makeup and trying to make me look like a young Elvis. As much as I would love to resemble the King, the weeks spent growing my sideburns went to waste when I ended up looking more like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Speaking of Foltyn, it’s time for a plug about National Elvis Week. This week, honor Elvis by taking an afternoon to go for a ride on the Harley or by throwing on the leathers and wooing your special lady with a guitar serenade to pay tribute to Graceland’s golden child. You can see Foltyn’s solo show, Just Jack live at Plano’s Cox Building Playhouse.

Admittedly, these videos have been making me feel somewhat like a celebrity, and the increasing views make my ego and head swell to an extent, but I don’t want to take the spotlight from you, the readers and communities who make my work possible.

I want to see more video content from you online at neighborsgo.com. Right now, students from Berkner High School in Richardson who are in the band Story 48 have gotten the hang of posting to neighborsgo.com. See them for yourself at neighborsgo.com/video/1063.

Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks as Angela Chambers and I take a trip to the frontier when we visit the Heritage Farmstead Museum and try our hand at life as settlers in the 1800s. Real-life Oregon Trail, here we come.

As always, feel free to send me challenges on my blog or neighborsgo Web site. If you think something would make a cool video, don’t shy away from letting me know.

-Marcus Out-

Marcus Murphree’s videos can be seen at neighborsgo.com/marcusmurphree, and he writes a daily humor blog at neighborsgo.com/blog/outloud.

DIRECT VIDEO LINKS:

Mary Day annihilates me

Jack Foltyn rocks out

Story 48 takes the stage

Making the King