American Idols
Since I've been on my own, both here in New York, and in my travels to and from, I have had the privilege of witnessing some of my own personal celebrity heroes in the primes of their respective careers, doing what they do best.
Over the past two years, I have seen the David Letterman show twice in person, which were both quite thrilling. David Letterman has long been a comedic icon to me. I have been watching his show since I was a child, with encouragement from my mother. I laughed hysterically then, and I still do now. I laugh even more now that I get the adult jokes. Before I just laughed at him working the drive-thru at Taco Bell.
In the past year, I have been witness to Ken Burns giving a talk about his latest work. Ken Burns has been a personal hero of mine ever since I watched the Civil War in history class in high school. Say what you want about documentaries, but nobody does them better than Ken Burns, in my opinion. They are long, boring, and informative. If that's not a documentary, then I don't know what is. What I like about Ken Burns so much is that he is loyal to the spirit of an American patriot, while trying to show aspects from every side of the story, even if it does not present America in the best light.
Being a fan of Ken Burns has turned me on to watching documentaries in general, and I have learned so much than I ever imagined I could from the so-called "idiot box".
Last football season, I had the rare privilege of being able to watch one of my favorite athletes take the field in what proved to be his statistically best and last season as a professional football player. I'd seen Brett Favre play once before, in a losing battle, when the Packers came to St. Louis a few years back. To see him this year, though, was a special treat. I saw the Packers in the beginning of the 2007 season, when they played against the New York Giants, and beat them. Then I saw them play the St. Louis Rams again later in December, where the Packers won, in the game in which Brett broke the all-time passing yards record. Both times I was able to share the experience with exquisite company, making it all the more worth while.
In the new year 2008, Henry Rollins came through New York on a two-night tour of Brooklyn. I've only been a fan of Henry Rollins in the last few years. He was once the lead singer of a band, but has always been an intellectual, a traveler, a scholar, and a terrific orator. On one of his nights in Brooklyn, I was able to take in some of his words with a friend of mine. Not music, though uplifting, and not comedy, though entertaining, Henry Rollins is one of the wisest men I've ever been privilege to hear speak, and it was an honor to do so live in person.
Not too long after that, I made a trip to Minnesota to meet my family, where we all sat in for a performance of Garrison Keilor's A Prairie Home Companion. I had been wanting to do this for a good long while, as the weekly radio show is something that I had become quite a fan of while in college, and even before that. In my opinion, Garrison Keilor is one the most brilliant and funny contemporary writers, and his weekly public radio broadcast that has been going strong for more than thirty years is a testament to how popular he/it is among people who actually listen. I could not tell you how many times I have laughed at the sense of humor he brings forth in his writing and story-telling. He is a true living genius. But to see him in person, in his arena, despite the poor view and abbreviated format of the show, was well worth it.
Lastly and most recently, I was able to take in a concert of the band that I have been obsessing over for the past year. Since seeing My Morning Jacket perform at last year's Lollapalooza, and listening to their records nonstop, I made it a quest and a religious experience to see them perform at Radio City Music Hall in New York on June 20th. Something was truly calling me. If that weren't enough, the person accompanying me for the occasion was a very special guest, and another person who I deeply admire. These two separate emotional plateaus came together on one night in one place, making for an incredibly intense experience for yours truly. And the concert was even more amazing than I expected it to be.
It's interesting how you get to like certain things or people, and then you get more and more deeply attached to them. They may become idols or role models, heroes or guides to you. What is really amazing though, is how they start to influence you and when you recognize those changes in yourself, modeled after this person or persons. They start to affect you in ways you never thought you could be affected.
These effects are not limited to celebrities, though. Surely, we all tend to look up to the people who entertain us. We are fans, and to an extend, followers. The effects also take place as a result of people you interact with on a more human level, too, though. You get influenced by your friends, by your boyfriend or girlfriend, by your neighbors, family, parents, and even strangers you meet in chance encounters.
I don't think it is ever too early or too late to set an example of behavior that somebody else might choose to imitate or borrow from. Everybody is capable of being an idol, to some extent.
Over the past two years, I have seen the David Letterman show twice in person, which were both quite thrilling. David Letterman has long been a comedic icon to me. I have been watching his show since I was a child, with encouragement from my mother. I laughed hysterically then, and I still do now. I laugh even more now that I get the adult jokes. Before I just laughed at him working the drive-thru at Taco Bell.
In the past year, I have been witness to Ken Burns giving a talk about his latest work. Ken Burns has been a personal hero of mine ever since I watched the Civil War in history class in high school. Say what you want about documentaries, but nobody does them better than Ken Burns, in my opinion. They are long, boring, and informative. If that's not a documentary, then I don't know what is. What I like about Ken Burns so much is that he is loyal to the spirit of an American patriot, while trying to show aspects from every side of the story, even if it does not present America in the best light.
Being a fan of Ken Burns has turned me on to watching documentaries in general, and I have learned so much than I ever imagined I could from the so-called "idiot box".
Last football season, I had the rare privilege of being able to watch one of my favorite athletes take the field in what proved to be his statistically best and last season as a professional football player. I'd seen Brett Favre play once before, in a losing battle, when the Packers came to St. Louis a few years back. To see him this year, though, was a special treat. I saw the Packers in the beginning of the 2007 season, when they played against the New York Giants, and beat them. Then I saw them play the St. Louis Rams again later in December, where the Packers won, in the game in which Brett broke the all-time passing yards record. Both times I was able to share the experience with exquisite company, making it all the more worth while.
In the new year 2008, Henry Rollins came through New York on a two-night tour of Brooklyn. I've only been a fan of Henry Rollins in the last few years. He was once the lead singer of a band, but has always been an intellectual, a traveler, a scholar, and a terrific orator. On one of his nights in Brooklyn, I was able to take in some of his words with a friend of mine. Not music, though uplifting, and not comedy, though entertaining, Henry Rollins is one of the wisest men I've ever been privilege to hear speak, and it was an honor to do so live in person.
Not too long after that, I made a trip to Minnesota to meet my family, where we all sat in for a performance of Garrison Keilor's A Prairie Home Companion. I had been wanting to do this for a good long while, as the weekly radio show is something that I had become quite a fan of while in college, and even before that. In my opinion, Garrison Keilor is one the most brilliant and funny contemporary writers, and his weekly public radio broadcast that has been going strong for more than thirty years is a testament to how popular he/it is among people who actually listen. I could not tell you how many times I have laughed at the sense of humor he brings forth in his writing and story-telling. He is a true living genius. But to see him in person, in his arena, despite the poor view and abbreviated format of the show, was well worth it.
Lastly and most recently, I was able to take in a concert of the band that I have been obsessing over for the past year. Since seeing My Morning Jacket perform at last year's Lollapalooza, and listening to their records nonstop, I made it a quest and a religious experience to see them perform at Radio City Music Hall in New York on June 20th. Something was truly calling me. If that weren't enough, the person accompanying me for the occasion was a very special guest, and another person who I deeply admire. These two separate emotional plateaus came together on one night in one place, making for an incredibly intense experience for yours truly. And the concert was even more amazing than I expected it to be.
It's interesting how you get to like certain things or people, and then you get more and more deeply attached to them. They may become idols or role models, heroes or guides to you. What is really amazing though, is how they start to influence you and when you recognize those changes in yourself, modeled after this person or persons. They start to affect you in ways you never thought you could be affected.
These effects are not limited to celebrities, though. Surely, we all tend to look up to the people who entertain us. We are fans, and to an extend, followers. The effects also take place as a result of people you interact with on a more human level, too, though. You get influenced by your friends, by your boyfriend or girlfriend, by your neighbors, family, parents, and even strangers you meet in chance encounters.
I don't think it is ever too early or too late to set an example of behavior that somebody else might choose to imitate or borrow from. Everybody is capable of being an idol, to some extent.
posted by Leland J. Fischer at 2:58 AM
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