Celebrity

I know from genealogical research that I have a 3x great grandfather, a gent by the name of John W. McHorse that fought in the Texas War of Independence. He’s buried in the Texas State Cemetery about 3 headstones from Stephen F. Austin. I didn’t do this research, it’s not my thing. It was carefully produced by my law school professor first cousin. Witnesses say she has not been seen without a book in her hand since she was 5 years old. A friend that loves Texas history declared that this fact about my Texas ancestry makes me a virtual celebrity. Ummm….I don’t think so, but I do want to talk a little about celebrity. Before I start I should tell you it is also written in several texts that my long ago grandfather John McHorse had a best friend who was widely known by the nickname “Horse Thief Shorty.” From what I understand the name was earned through merit. Also, poor Grandpa John, a Baptist minister by trade, was booted right out of the Baptist church for what was vaguely referred to as “un-Christian conduct.” He married the granddaughter of President William Henry Harrison in 1890, but she divorced him in 1896, the divorce seeming to be related to the “un-Christian conduct.” Apparently I inherited his penchant for rebellion and self-direction.

Celebrity, I assume, is a derivative of the word celebrated. Celebrating people is a good thing if the celebrities have accomplished things that elevate our society. That is my definition of what celebrity should be.

Is the idea of ‘celebrity’ out of control? Do you know a celebrity personally?

I want to tell you 2 stories about celebrity that might best illustrate the points I want to make. If I fail to make any points then you have lost some valuable minutes you will never get back, but that happens all the time anyway. Right?

I coached select baseball teams for several years. Baseball is a lifelong passion of mine. I had many outstanding young players. As it turns out one of my students, a lad named Hunter Pence, has become the center fielder for the Houston Astros this year. As of today he is leading the National League in hitting and is considered a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. This has resulted in instant fame for Hunter in Houston and around the knowledgeable baseball world. Recently the Astros played the Rangers here in the DFW area and BEG and I had a courtesy (gift) seat directly behind home plate. Hunter’s mom told us that Hunter is unable to go out in public in Houston. He is besieged by autograph seekers and a line begins to form as soon as he is recognized. When he finally has to walk away from the line of people that want his signature, some will actually be angry and say unkind things to him. He has had to change his cell phone number several times in the past 2 months. Young female fans in Houston carry big signs to the ballpark asking if Hunter will marry them. In high school the girl fans of our team treated Hunter like any other guy on the field. There’s more, but you get the point. My memories of Hunter are of a very hard worker that dedicated himself to the game, but I also remember a 13 year old boy with braces and a goofy smile. I remember him at 17, growing past 6 foot seemingly in front of my eyes, still owning the same goofy manner and smile he owned at 13. Today he is famous and rich at 24 years old. He is also hounded night and day by celebrity seekers.

This past Tuesday I was talking with Jon Drummond on the track during my workout. For those not knowledgeable about track and field, Jon is a former elite sprinter that won gold in the Sydney Olympics on the USA 4x100 relay team and has a sterling track resume beyond Olympics competitions. Today he is the coach of the currently presumed ‘World’s Fastest Human’ Tyson Gay, a fact that is garnering Jon a lot of national attention. He is also the founder of the Jon Drummond Achievement Foundation targeting the inner city children of Philadelphia for assistance.

On Tuesday Jon was telling me about the infamous incident in the Sydney Olympics after the USA team had won gold in the 4x100 relay. The USA team was celebrating the victory in a way many felt was too vigorous. Anyone that knows Jon understands he is anything but understated, yet they need also to understand that he was born with spina bifida and told he would never walk. I would say winning a gold medal in the sprints in the Olympic Games when you were told you would never walk constitutes grounds for celebration. For the other 3 athletes, let’s just ask ourselves if we won an Olympic gold medal would we be happy? The coverage declared that the US should not be so boisterous, and the athletes should understand they were supposed to win. Excuse me? American athletes that achieve the highest level are supposed to understand they should not be happy? They didn’t exactly break out guns and run around the track shooting people. They merely carried a US flag around the track and posed for photographs for the crowd. The American governing track authorities declared that the athletes appeared to be ‘over-happy.’ Is that a word? If so does it make any sense? National media such as Good Morning America picked up on the ‘over-happy’ theme and publicly wrung its hands about the sadness of the unlovable Americans. As we know, at ABC everything is America’s fault, don’t you dare be one bit happy about the successes of your country!

I am reminded of the Italian film maker that won an Academy Award and went absolutely berserk, running off the stage and into the audience, shouting in Italian and jumping about like a madman. He was widely embraced as a wonderful, engaging and lovable soul. Four hard-working U.S. Athletes exhibiting far more reserved behavior are characterized as ‘over-happy’; meaning please remember to remain restrained in the face of your accomplishments. It’s only endearing if you are a bizarre behaving, short skinny Italian film maker?

The obvious point to my writing here is that we, along with a celebrity focused media, too often create something that is devoid of reality when we obsess about celebrities. We build prisons for them and then scowl if they do not conform to our invented image of what they are supposed to be. This is a bizarre fashion of thinking that we might actually own them. If we own them we can control them, and if we can control them we might become like them?

What I know for certain is that Hunter simply loves playing baseball. He has made it his life’s work. I also know he is entirely human, the same kid I have known all these years. He sleeps, he breathes, he feels and I have seen him at his most human. He deserves to be treated as you would treat your son, brother or friend. Anything else is a false reality created by our own imaginations.

Jon is a man that is gregarious and full of life. That is who he is. He has also created a foundation for the enrichment of the inner city Philadelphia child, a testament that being over-happy in life can perhaps be a purely positive thing, no matter your country of origin?

Unlike my 3x grandfather's friend, 'Horse Thief Shorty’, maybe we should quit taking and start giving. Maybe instead of attempting to wrap ourselves around the lives of celebrities, stealing their freedom to be as they are, what we should do is look inside our own lives for an original source of inspiration? That, you see, is what will actually make us worthy of being celebrated.