The idea of idolatry is disturbing; what gets idolized even more so. From Donald Jeffries at donaldjeffries.substack.com:
No human is an idol
I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of fame. In fact, I wrote a book about the subject: On Borrowed Fame: Money, Mysteries, and Corruption in the Entertainment World. I’m embarrassed to admit that I used to watch TMZ. The antics of celebrities are like junk food. I stopped watching when I didn’t know any of the celebrities.
Like other American youngsters, I grew up idolizing my favorite athletes. They were rarely the superstars that most other boys worshiped. Even then, I tended to avoid the bandwagon. I instinctively felt an affinity for the underappreciated and underrated. I wound up pretty much covering the walls of my bedroom with sports posters. A poster of Greg Landry, quarterback for the Detroit Lions, a figure no one remembers, was front and center. I loved Joe Theismann, quarterback for the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins. My wife waited on him at Farrell’s Ice Cream parlor as a teenager, and said he gave her the biggest tip she ever received. When I learned that, it made me feel good. I wasn’t lavishing worship on a mean guy.
In the entertainment world, my favorite television character of all time was Barney Fife, played by Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show. Again, I was filled with some irrational pride when I discovered he was consistently ranked as the nicest man in Hollywood. Hey, I only choose good and decent heroes. My favorite actor of all time is James Stewart. I spoke to Karolyn Grimes, who played little Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life, while researching On Borrowed Fame. I was gratified to learn that I’d picked another winner. She described how an ugly family situation caused her acting career to end abruptly, and she was shocked when Stewart had her tracked down later to find out what happened to her. She described him as being essentially the same honorable, upstanding character he played onscreen in real life. They became good friends.
Mike Schmidt, Joe Montana, John Riggins, Larry Bird, were our faves and older family loved Pistol Pete Maravich and Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Sandy Koufax.
Pappy always told me they have to put socks, shoes and pants on just like you.
We both loved Clint Eastwood and Good Bad Ugly was an annual ritual, Kurt Russell as SD Plissken is a favorite.
God is the One.
I am NO one.
That’s why it finds nothing when I search for name.
I always played hooky on yearbook day, no email in 20 years, no stupidphone or hive media ever.
This is fine.