Keys to success often begin with positive attitude

ROGER CARLSON

There are painful plateaus when just about anyone realizes he or she

has reached a point where it’s time to pull in the reins. Time and

circumstances have a way of telling you a story which requires no

verbiage.

Costa Mesa’s Mark Keys knew it about 10 years ago and at this

point, with nine ankle surgeries, six back surgeries, a case of

Graves Disease and two torn rotator cuffs, chances for an athletic

comeback appear pretty remote.

The Graves Disease seems to be the biggest rap. Although it’s

incurable, you can live with it with a number of issues that have to

be dealt with.

But instead of packing it in, the 45-year-old Keys, whose

appearance is more like a 35-year-old enjoying the good life along

these beaches and pristine accommodations, has turned the negatives

into a rather interesting alternative.

What began as a quest for autographed pictures from various

high-end athletes and celebrities, became a bid for their “best-day”

response, and virtually half of the some 10,000 requests have been

answered.

Without the benefit of a plot the Newport Harbor High product has

put together books reflecting “My Best Day” and “My Best Day ..

Sports.”

And, there are plans for more, such as USC, UCLA, Texas and Notre

Dame editions. So, as you can envision, there’s really no end to the

possibilities. Who knows? Maybe a Newport Harbor edition?

In his first endeavor such notables as Jerry Lewis and Dean

Martin, Joey Bishop and Pat Paulsen, Morgan Freeman and Walter

Matthau ... well, the list goes on and on, and each offers a unique

insight with their choice.

The second book, limited to sports figures, is of course, more

interesting, and the figures are just as intriguing -- John Wooden,

George Blanda, Bob Cousy, Bobby Bowden, Lou Holtz and many more.

The interest his books reflect, however, are just one-half of the

story.

The other side is Keys, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound father of two

daughters (Page and Megan) with wife Laurie, an accountant, and his

daily battle with the elements.

He doesn’t sit, even on or at his best choice, for more than 15

minutes before he must get up to soothe the discomfort, and despite

his solid appearance, is an unlikely candidate for mowing the lawn.

It’s simply the residuals of those surgeries, which were the result

of a little too much oomph while rebounding.

Mark’s senior season at Newport Harbor was in 1975 under Coach Ken

Ammann, and although he spent some time at Orange Coast with Herb

Livsey, he did not play competitively again.

One of his downfalls was the fact that he had a good vertical leap

and he didn’t have the tendons to match. He would have been a lot

better with my vertical features, with toes that never saw the light

of day off the surface of a basketball court.

But like most of us, the thrill of the game isn’t limited to a

Tars’ jersey and he found himself often enjoying pickup hoops.

While working in the sailboat field in 1991 a herniated disc

injury forced him into permanent disability and since then he has

added tendinitis, bone spurs, arthritis and torn cartilage to a long

list of concerns.

It’s a rather amazing scenario of someone in constant discomfort

while presenting a front wreaking of an up-beat attitude, style and

infectious smile.

He continues to write his hand-written letters, a couple a day, in

hopes of bulking his numbers for future books, and he’s Mr. Mom

around the house, although not quite at the same pace of Michael

Keaton.

He walks a lot with a slowed pace and is a familiar figure in and

around the Back Bay and along the boulevards of Balboa Island. If his

books ever dry up, he’ll always have what began strictly as a hobby,

the massively-displayed framed and personally autographed photos on

the walls of his home, which would give any restaurant immediate star

status.

As for his “best moment,” his first reaction was one in general,

which didn’t count.

Pressed, he said it was the day he spent at a golf tournament in

Palm Desert, enjoying “hanging out” with Kirk Douglas for about a

half-hour as Robert Wagner and Angie Dickinson made their

appearances.

A great deal of his life and personna is wrapped around the

likeness of one of Newport Harbor’s most legendary individuals --

Bucko Shaw, his best friend.

Mark spent all of his time with Bucko, especially during the final

months, weeks and days before his untimely death at age 42 as a

virtual personal aide.

Bucko could have easily qualified as a role model for the key

figure in the movie “The Best of Times.” In fact, he would have been

a much funnier character.

As Mark Keys puts it in the dedication page of his book, “He

rumbled, he stumbled, he fumbled.”

He was a great guy and is a constant source of reference for Keys.

Mark Keys isn’t putting any more points on the scoreboard, but

he’s nailing threes by the fistful with his clever books and positive

outlook.

The downside, of course, is he makes me feel pretty wimpy with my

occasional whining about next-to-nothing.

Hey! See you next Sunday!

* ROGER CARLSON is the former sports editor for the Daily Pilot.

His column appears on Sundays. He can be reached by e-mail at

[email protected].