First, I would like to thank DeWey, for without his contribution this blog may not have even happened. Yes he fixed my computer hard-core and now it’s running like a champ. Way to go DeWey. I would also like to say that he has a pretty cool pod-cast going. It was actually featured on a fairly large pod-cast hosted by the guy who used to do Headbanger’s Ball on MTV. Coolness.
Next, I thought I would do a blog about my own personal heroes. Not any actual people mind you because I think, that for me anyway, it is more truthful to talk about the fictional characters on TV that I watched growing up rather than…you know…real people. I guess it was easier to identify with the television characters that I saw daily versus those I could only read about and whose actions I had to interpret. Not that I didn’t know about Martin Luther King Junior, Mother Theresa, or Neil Armstrong. I just thought that the fictional characters on TV had more definable qualities. So let me give you a few, but please don’t laugh remember that I was a kid and these were some role models of mine.
MacGyver: He was a nice guy who wanted to help people. He was some kind of peacekeeping agent that didn’t carry a gun. No, all he needed was pocketknife and some ingenuity. I always thought that this guy was smart enough to solve any problem that lay before him, all he needed was a little time and some common household items. I always have a pocketknife on me to this day, in part, from watching MacGuyver.
Danger Mouse: I know it’s a cartoon character, but he was cool nonetheless. He was always really brave. He could march into any situation head first with the utmost confidence. He could even march several times into the same situation where he would inevitably be hanging from the edge of a cliff with his partner, Penfold, dangeling at his feet. I try and have that kind of bravery even if it means hanging from a proverbial cliff.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The captain of the starship Enterprise (from Star Trek: The Next Generation). He was an amazingly wise character. He was measured and in control. When the shit hit the fan and two Klingon warbirds were coming in for an attack he would be the guy you wanted at the helm. I always thought that someday I wanted to have the same weathered experience and comand this guy has.
Indiana Jones: Was there any doubt he would make the list? C’mon, he had it all. He was smart, brave, and clever. He was as smooth as James Bond and as tough as Rambo. He is the reason I think archaeology is so cool to this day. He could take on an army of Nazis kick their asses and be back to recover whatever sacred object needed recovering before flying off on his next adventure. And it was always for a museum, so he even had integrity. Not to mention that he always got the girl.
So there you go, some of my personal heroes. I think they are pretty cool. Yeah, I never really idolized the sports stars or the rock stars. I guess I just thought that those people were just people, totally flawed, normal, nothing special...people. Where as these fictional characters could be the embodiment of the traits that I admired. I am sure that most of you out there have at least a few heroes of your own that aren't real life people too. Though LJ thinks I'm weird.
3 comments:
Mark, I love this blog! And you spelled ingenuity correctly!
O.K., I think the time has come for you to start gathering stuff for a book. Your blog is something I always look forward to reading. Just enough insightful thoughts with humor thrown in to make it great reading.
I think your hero choices are great and I can see many of their qualities in you. Dad has always admired your unwavering bravery without being totally reckless. You have many episodes in your past when you automatically reacted in a cool, measured manner and averted certain disaster: on the lake with the Boy Scouts, in the Grand Canyon, on a dive at Lake Lanier, on a dive with the archaeolgical team, even on your first dive at 12 years old to get your Open Water certification. You've saved Patrick from drowning, a Scout from drowning and a stranger from a heart attack.
You ar also the most persistent in face of "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" (Thanks, Shakespeare). You don't quit...ever...you just keep slogging away with your eyes on the goal. When faced with a problem you just start looking for the way over, around (in spite of any petty little laws!), through or even under the problem. You are the embodiment of my favorite motto: "Do or don't do, there is no try" (Thanks, Yoda).
So, in short, YOU are one of my heroes!
Awe mom, I'm blushing. Thanks, I've been thinking about writing a book. It's just a blog is one thing, I only need to have a cohesive thought for like half a page, but writing a book would be a steam of consciousness like for 300 pages or more. Maybe it should be a next goal though. Thanks for the comment.
Personally I've always found Al Bundy from married with children tobe my hero. Here's a man who knew he was defeated and that his family was his arch enemy. Even through all of this he continually persisted to succeed or at least beat his family into submission even though he was always the one to lose, just like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football Lucy was holding. Even when you know you will probably lose you keep fighting.
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