Recently the hottest news in Taiwan(maybe all Chinese circle) focused upon that two young movies stars, from Taiwan and HK respectively, were caught taking drugs in Beijing.  I've never watched their movies or listened to thieir songs before, so I know nothing about them except their names, just names. 

When I was a teenger of my time in Taiwan, young people couldn't be wannabes to any local, Korean, or Japanese idols partly because they were living under an authoritarian island, no gatherings were allowed; mostly because there were no electronic media then, except radio, as means to attract the teenagers.  But radio could broadcast American pop songs from which we were familiar with three American handsome star singers and public heart-throbs: Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and Ricky Nelson. 

You know King Elvis(貓王).  He was the dream lover of American young women(He claimed that he had slept with thousands of them.).  When he was over 30, he became too fat to be on the stage any more, so he started to live an almost secluded life, self-pitying.  He finally died of obesity and overdose of drug at 42 in mid 70's.  Ricky Nelson, five years younger than Elvis, was another idol(one of his popular songs was titled "Teenage Idol").  He died at 45 in an airplane crash during early 80's.  He was found positive drug reaction in his body. 

Now I am introducing Pat Boone to you.  I was his fan, and for a period of time he was my idol.  He was born in 1934(now 80) to a religious family.  When he was 19 he had already been famous as young singer and already got married.  In the meantime, he also matriculated at Columbia University and later gradulated magna cum laude.  He had four daughters, one of them was likewise a great singer in 80's: Debbie Boone.  Pat Boone was a writer, too.  He is the author of a best seller "Twixt Twelve and Twenty", in which he taught young people how to pass their adolescence and teenage smoothly without much growing pain.  I've heard he is now engaing himself in philanthropic work. 

Now you know the difference between real whiz-kids and enfant terrribles.  Pat Boone was well-educated, from both family and school, having self-discipline, and enjoying a happy marriage, which had been nothing to do with either King Elvis or Ricky Nelson.  Who is the winner and who is the loser?  You make the call.