Jay Leno rocks – well, almost

Sure, try to garner national attention on your own, but I am always here in a fallback position. Eldon Coroch read my recent story about the vision of Pegasus, the winged horse, formed in bird poop on a car windshield.

He turned to my column, after rejections by Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres.

Readers may recall I’ve written about the face of Jesus Christ on a kitchen cabinet door and on a rock in Arlington; an egg that looked like a swaddled baby Jesus; Elvis in a glass display case filled with sand; and the Lake Goodwin quarter stamped with a male body part.

Coroch read about Pegasus, asked for notoriety and I swallowed the humiliation of not being his first choice. His story started one day when he was gardening. Coroch plopped on a bench in his Everett back yard and pondered river rocks.

“I like rocks,” Coroch said. “Wow, it hit me.”

He noticed a stone with the outline of a jutting chin that looked like Jay Leno. In profile, there was the Leno chin, mouth, eye and forehead.

Coroch has had more than a decade to casually examine stones, and watch late-night television. He retired 11 years ago after a 31-year career at Everett Community College that included advising the student newspaper and teaching journalism, English and parapsychology.

His parapsychology classes included lectures, tape recordings, films, group discussions, experimentation, gestalt psychology and Zen. The class examined dreams and studied near-death experiences, psychic healing, holistic health, meditation, Eastern thought, secrets of sound and color and New Age phenomena.

It’s a given he’s interested in the paranormal: Coroch will turn 77 on 7-7-07.

His classes must have been fun. The former high school baseball star in Nebraska is a man who sees the sunny side of things and doesn’t mind giggling after he speaks. A disco enthusiast in its heyday, he’s not too proud to admit he loves “Proud Mary.” Coroch learned to play keyboard after he left the college and offers “Name That Tune” afternoon entertainment at senior centers.

His wife of 49 years, Doris, plays the piano. Their lovely Everett home rocks when they pair up in the music room. They have a son, daughter and four grandchildren. He loves to watch “American Idol,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Survivor” and “Bones.”

Coroch’s thing isn’t gardening, but the church usher does examine rocks while doing his watering chores. Photographer friend John Lindstrom took a picture of the Leno face and Coroch sent the stone to the late-night television personality.

In the package to the show, the former newspaper reporter wrote a tongue-in-cheek letter about finding the long-lost “Leno Rock.”

“Scientists speculate that the evolutionary line that brought forth “Caveman Leno” became extinct because no human known to be living today has a jaw that prominent.”

Couldn’t Leno take a joke? Coroch said Leno goofs on everybody else and he thought the stone image would go over well on TV.

Leno never displayed his craggy face, and kept the stone to boot.

That’s not nice. A Navy veteran who served in the Korean War, Coroch said he knows the package was delivered to Leno because he has a postal receipt.

Next, Coroch sent the rock picture and a letter to Ellen DeGeneres for her talk show. She often does resemblance bits on her program, Coroch said.

The hospice volunteer never heard from DeGeneres, so I was summoned. You may also meet the delightful gentleman because Coroch is seeking keyboard gigs.

I can vouch for his talent, as I was serenaded by “Memories” and “Summertime.”

I didn’t feel rock bottom after all.

Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.

John Lindstrom photo

If you look closely, you might be able to see the profile of late-night comedian Jay Leno’s face.