The people we idolize (Part I)

More accurately, the people I idolize.  Let's face it, I don't know who you idolize.

When I was relatively young (elementary, middle school) I kept running into get-to-know-you style essays, quizzes, etc. that included questions like, "Who is your idol?"

They annoyed me severely.  They anticipated some sort of sports star or movie star or singer, but I didn't "idolize" anyone.  I knew little about pop culture, and I certainly didn't care to model myself off anyone.  I usually came up with an author (Piers Anthony was frequent, and Stephen King figured in the picture later) but I didn't really idolize the authors at all.  I just enjoyed their writing.  As a rule, I don't care what authors, artists, singers, and actors do with their real lives-- learning about the people behind the image often tarnishes the image for me.  (Rush was a much better band before they got off the heroin.)

I didn't "idolize" anyone until I reached high school.  At that time, I became aware of the incredible spirit and merit of my Aunt Debby, who began a battle with cancer around that time.  Despite everything (and there has been a very long list of everything), her confidence in the future and her cheerful attitude have been nothing short of astonishing.  I haven't seen her in two and a half years, and I confess I don't correspond with her anywhere near as often as I should, but she never ceases to amaze and impress me.

Shortly after I graduated from college, I moved to the town in which my maternal grandmother lives, and I grew to know her significantly better.  As I learned more about the voluntary and involuntary trials that she had endured (three examples from many: travelling to Japan as an Air Force lieutenant in the Korean War, the joys of single motherhood, and volunteering to work in abortion clinics that were receiving bomb threats), I realized what an admirable person she was, and I hope I grow up someday to be as strong and moral a person as she is (because I'm certainly not right now.)

Anyway... (less mush, more contemplation...)

For the first time, I recently became abstractly enamored of someone I've never met or directly corresponded with.  He creates marvelous things.

...it has mysteriously become 3:43 AM the day after I began writing this entry.  (That's what I get for starting to think about something and then going dancing.  Yay, dancing; yay, whatever it was I had to drink; yay, corset; boo, guy who threw us very legitimately out of the VIP area, though he was nice about it.)

To be continued....