Character Sketch Contest Honorable Mention

Contest Description | Winners | Honorable Mention | Judges | Guidelines & Rules

Seymour O'Connor is a third generation auto mechanic that has spent his entire life under the shadow of his older brother. Being the less successful of the two O'Connor boys, Seymour simply rose to fill his father's place in the family auto repair business, while Seymour's brother became a famous jet-setting actor in Hollywood. To be honest though, it is nothing new. Since childhood, Seymour has always played second fiddle to his brother. During the day, Seymour spends his hours watching over the auto repair store in the same sleepy town that his grandfather started the shop a few years before the First World War. Now that Seymour's father is old and retired, Seymour has simply followed in the same tradition of the O'Connor men. Seymour is absolutely against the life of an auto mechanic. His true passion is music. Once the store closes for the night, Seymour removes his work gloves and listens to his old 78 rpm records in the back of the store where he lives. Seymour is also a very talented musician, especially when it comes to the banjo (though he would never admit it). Seymour has lived his life in his music, while the rest of the world revolved around his older sibling. Seymour has been a recluse from a very early age and has spent nearly his entire life ostracizing others and self perpetuating his hermit habits. At one point, Seymour was the banjoist for a local blue grass band called "The Blue Grass Cutters". With that small band, Seymour traveled to several state farms and local competitions, and even cut a record of a few of their songs. The band did not last long though; internal power struggles between band members and even a failed romance between the guitarist and the lead vocalist caused the band to disintegrate. Seymour still writes his own music to this day and for those that are lucky enough to be around the O'Connor Auto Repair shop at night, are often treated to the gentle twang of a single banjo or the classic resonance of old vinyl jazz records. But for those that actually want their car repaired it would be wise to look elsewhere; that O'Connor boy would not know his way under a car if one ran him over.