Now that I am older I still retain a very strong sense of individuality. I have come to know very much who I am and stand strong in my own convictions. I do not however let that interfere with my respect for other people�s views. All of my life I seem to have been the kind of person who people took notice of. In school I was often teacher�s pet. In my many jobs I was nearly always quickly promoted to positions of management and in everyday life I find that people in general react quite positively toward me, even sharing intimate details of their lives on our first meeting. I wouldn�t say I was famous or anything, but when I left Tracy, CA I couldn�t walk to the corner store without stopping and conversing with at least a few people who knew me. I guess being in the same town for so many years and working with the public, coupled with a overall positive attitude sort of made me stand out. That and the fact that I am good with names, faces and have a pretty good memory for events meant that I knew hundreds, and likely thousands of folks in town and somehow managed to remember them all.
When it comes to Celebrity and famous people I find it hard to understand what all the fuss is about. You can get a taste for this in Journal entry #23 when I went to a Christian concert. I have personally met a few celebrities in my lifetime but I have never been what you would call �star struck�. Such as the first time M.C. Hammer came into the 7-11 I worked at. He lives in Tracy and came in late one night looking at magazines. Some kids came in all excited and began asking him for his autograph. When he came up to the register and I recognized who it was, I of course thought about his music from when I was a teenager in the 80�s, but he seemed to me to be just like anyone else. He asked me if we carried business week magazine and I told him no, but I could see about ordering it just as I would do for any other customer. He left and I went back to my job. When I left 7-11 and went to work for Home Video I would see him more often as he was a customer there. In fact he was considering for a time, buying the store. As I got to know him a bit better I found that he seemed like a pretty nice guy, and he seems to have a nice family. His little boy is especially adorable. :-)
Other encounters I have had were just as tepid. I grew up in the same trailer park as national champion figure skater Rudy Galindo. I only knew him as a kid though and not when he became famous. I did write to his sister Laura and her husband to congratulate them on the birth of their second child though to which she returned a thank you note. After he won the national championship I wrote a nice letter and dropped it off at his home at the time, still in the old trailer park in San Jose. That story is somewhat covered in Journal entry #42. It has become a habit of mine to write to people who I draw some inspiration from to thank them. Most of the time I write these letters of appreciation to people I meet in life, but occasionally I feel inspiration from someone I have had no direct contact with. Such as the Author John Gribbin of Sussex England. His books on Quantum Physics have taught me much so I tracked him down via e-mail and thanked him as well. He replied back with a simple thank you note. And then there was the time I wrote to Oprah Winfrey back when I still watched television. Not because she was famous, but because I truly believe that she really cares about people. Interestingly enough, I wrote a line in that letter to her that read, �I especially admire the way you help others to see the light for themselves.� Perhaps it is coincidence, but a month or two after that I saw a commercial for her show where the motto was, �Helping others to see the light for themselves.� I never received a reply to my letter, but then I don�t really feel the need for recognition. I only hope that she herself was able to read the letter and know that she is appreciated.
There are others of course, but I think you get the point. To me, everyone has something they can give or share with others. You certainly don�t need to be on T.V. or in movies to be a hero. Most of my personal heroes are every day folks just like you and me. Policemen who protect our communities, the teachers that educate us (see journal entry #43), the physicians and caretakers who aid the sick and needy. Parents, postmen, ministers, family, friends and so many others who touch our lives. I try to see the beauty and individuality of each person I meet and I feel that just about all of them have taught me something in this life.
As for wealth and material possession. I would have to define myself in this regard as very practical. I have never had any sort of real ambition to become rich or possess items of luxury like fancy cars or a big house. I consider myself a man with simple needs. I have a roof over my head, an old truck to get me around and haul things with and a number of investments to give a sense of security should anything happen to me where I become unable to sustain myself otherwise. I am by no means rich in possession. Everything I own has either a practical or sentimental value attached to it. If anything I own could be considered luxury it would be my keyboard, home movies, camera, books and computer related items. But I see each of these things as being practical in some way. I suppose it�s a matter of perspective. I could certainly do without all of these things, so perhaps they are luxuries. But if we get too technical then even soda pop is a luxury.
I have moved many times in my life. Often times across the United States from coast to coast. Each time I have done so I simply sold just about everything off and started again from the beginning. When I moved this last time the only things I took with me were what I could fit in the back of my S-10 pickup. Clothes, personal effects, electronics and my mother�s roll top desk. The only things I have from the first time I moved out at 18 are my high school yearbook & diploma, my legal papers (licenses, birth certificate, etc.) and a satchel filled with every letter, note or card that was ever sent to me. I am certainly a sentimental old fool! Even now I save every personal e-mail that is sent to me on C.D. disk. But I have many treasures. Not the kind that moth can eat or rust and elements can destroy, but the kind that are stored up in heaven. Times well spent with those I love. The joys of being a part of a beautiful spring day. Love, laughter, happiness and often simply witnessing the joy in others. All the things that bring this heart and spirit inspiration. And that is why it is so important for me to let people know when they have touched me in some way. Because by letting them know, we both end up storing those treasures and our lives become evermore complete.
~FIN
