News-Record.com

Chris Gardner's talk at High Point University last night was inspirational and funny ... until a student asked him what his son is doing now.

You know Gardner's story if you saw "The Pursuit of Happyness" starring Will Smith.

The single parent of a young son, he struggled to accomplish his goal of becoming a stockbroker despite setbacks that left him and Chris Jr. without a home. Having never known his own father, his overriding goal was always to be a faithful parent.

Against all odds, he became an amazing financial success. But he told the standing-room-only audience of students and guests at HPU's Hayworth Fine Arts Center: "The most important thing I've ever done in my life is break the cycle of men not there for their children."

So what about Chris Jr., now in his late-20s?

"My children have become like little chocolate Kennedys," carrying a "sense of entitlement," said Gardner, who also has a younger daughter. He gave them all the things he never had himself, or acquired only through incredibly hard work.

His son enrolled at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.

"The boy decided he didn't want a degree, he wanted tenure. ... He now says he works for me. Let's define work.

"He's a good kid. Let me say this about him, and then no more questions about him: Thank God I have a daughter."

Sad.

Otherwise, Gardner's narrative was nearly as dramatic and heart-wrenching as the movie -- but punctuated with more humor. Gardner is a funny guy in the sense of being able to laugh at painful experiences of the past.

* On being arrested and put in jail when a license check found he'd run up $1,200 in unpaid parking tickets:

"They put me in a cell with a murderer, a rapist and an arsonist. I'm there on parking tickets. (I told them) I'm here on attempted murder, and I will try it again."

* On being left by the mother of his son:

"Remember this: Unemployment will not help your relationships."

* On what she thinks of his success and fame now:

"Who cares?"

* On making the movie:

"Those people spent $70 million to recreate what I did with nothing."

* On a "Hollyweird" proposal to make a reality TV show, with Gardner as a judge, awarding prizes to the homeless person who can best lift his fortunes:

"Homelessness is not a game, but if it is I already won so send me my money."

* On going to work at Bear, Stearns & Co. with "Weinberg, Feinberg and Steinberg":

"They used to call me Gardnerberg. They said, 'You want to learn this business? Dress British and think Yiddish.' "

Despite the gag lines, Gardner offered thoughtful messages about parenthood, hard work and homelessness. As his bio notes, he supports programs to help.

What gives him "happyness" now? The ability to "do work that reflects my values," he said.

Oh, and about a sequel to the film: "I'll see you at the movies," he said.

Let's hope there's a happy ending for his son.