Time-tested, time-honored
As our decades of life mount up, the humans we continue to admire outside of family and friends — the celebrities, sports figures, politicians, etc. — are probably much more worthy of our high regard.
They have passed the test of time, which can be particularly harsh on those in the spotlight. Just ask Bill Cosby. Or Roger Clemens. Society loves to build people up and then watch as they get knocked down, either suffering numerous indignities or working to climb back into our good graces.
If an individual can continue to achieve, continue to function within the boundaries of our expectations, continue to just live life without hints of scandal . . . wow. They must be special.
Thinking about this quirky part of our collective existence, I asked myself just who do I really admire (again, outside of my personal sphere of operation, such as family, friends or associates like teachers or bosses or fellow workers, whom we hold to different standards)?
Just going with my gut, I immediately came up with a list:
** Hall of Fame baseball manager (and former player and current executive) Joe Torre.
** Hall of Fame basketball coach (and former player) Muffet McGraw.
** U.S. President Barack Obama.
** First Lady Michelle Obama.
** NPR talk show host Terry Gross.
** Rocker and author Patti Smith.
** Singer, actress Kristin Chenoweth.
** Radio show host Garrison Keillor.
** Singer, actress Bernadette Peters.
** Retired Yankee baseball player Derek Jeter.
** Washington Post investigative journalist Bob Woodward.
I stared at the list for a while and agreed with my gut. I’m sure there would be others, if I sat down and thought hard, but this off-the-top-of-the-head group of names readily meets my personal criterion for admiration.
And just what would that criterion be, you ask?
Great talent seems to be one common denominator. They are all extraordinary in their chosen fields.
I do pay attention to those who can be the best at some endeavor. I’m particularly moved by excellence in high-risk pursuits: music, sports, comedy, acting, journalism, writing, politics.
But beyond being supremely talented, these individuals stand out for their well-rounded, well-grounded, sincere, real personhoods — at least those that we fans get to see. And, as my main point here, it’s pretty certain, after all the public scrutiny over many years, that the positive qualities of these celebrities are for real.
His deep knowledge of baseball was put to the ultimate test, under extreme pressure, during an 11-year run as manager of the New York Yankees. They always made the playoffs, winning four World Series.
For those years alone, really, he deserved election to the Hall of Fame.
Along the way, he was a model of class, style and maturity under trying conditions, professionally and personally. And he’s continued as such in the years since. He just always seems to have life in perspective, to value integrity above all else and to just be a naturally good person, not an above-it-all celebrity.
She’s a tough competitor, to be sure, but her off-the-court persona, combined with the praise heaped on her by her University of Notre Dame players, coaches and administrators, not to mention rival coaches, indicates she is one fair, smart, witty, sincere, down-to-earth woman. Like Joe Torre, she just seems like a really nice person.
She built the ND women’s basketball program into a perennial power and a major draw in South Bend, Ind., two incredible achievements when you consider: A) the ups and downs other most sports experience at colleges with high academic standards; and B) women’s basketball takes a deep back seat to men’s basketball at most schools.
And now she has become just the second coach in the storied history of Notre Dame athletics to record 700 victories.
Just about everyone outside RWCW (Right Wing Cuckoo World) recognizes President Obama has achieved great things despite incredible, blind, total opposition by RWCW-cowed politicians from the moment he was elected.
He may seem too young to be considered “time-tested” but his eight or so years in the public spotlight have been the equivalent of about two decades for your average celebrity. His every twitch and glance have been scrutinized and analyzed from every possible angle. And, in the real world (outside RWCW), he’s come out unscathed.
He’s got his faults and has made mistakes. That makes him human. But he’s done his best to get us out of the devastating wars and economic collapse that his
predecessors left behind. We are far better off now than we were seven years ago.
Like Torre and McGraw, he’s whip-smart, witty and accessible, a person of high personal standards and a genuine family man. Just a nice guy who’s withstood ungodly amounts of personal attacks with remarkable grace, fortitude and resilience.
If there’s one person I would prefer to lead our country other than Barack Obama, it is his wife, Michelle.
She has all the attributes I listed above for her husband and the other two — the smarts, the wit, the class, the head-screwed-on-right approach to the daily highs and lows of living.
She can handle herself in just about any situation, and she’s been put in a few hundred different ones. A great person.
A 40-year career in any entertainment field is extraordinary. Ms. Gross’ continued excellence as a radio interviewer over four decades, with that mellifluous voice and those educated, considerate inquiries, may be unprecedented.
What I’m fairly certain IS unique is the mesmerizing effect she has on thousands of listeners.
Many fantasize about being her guest, according to a recent profile in the New York Times Magazine (the article’s author herself had such daydreams).
The normally cynical and caustic comedian/podcaster Mark Maron positively gushed when given the chance to turn the tables and interview Gross. It was almost embarrassing to hear his effusive praise for her.
What impresses me, though, is her consistency over four decades — her personal standards, her interests, her curiosity, her lifestyle. I often find fault with her shows but I appreciate that she is who she is. I know what to expect and so the choice is simply mine whether to pay attention.
I only came into her orbit when I was swept away by her first book, “Just Kids,” (made aware by a “Fresh Air” interview, of course) but I’ve since come to greatly appreciate her music career and artistic life.
As with my other honorees, she’s exhibited a time-tested honesty. She’s real, she talented, she’s remarkably incisive.
Her second memoir is awaiting my attention right now on a bookshelf (first gotta struggle through a current non-fiction book).
My main themes for those listed above apply for the other names on my list, in short:
** Garrison Keillor is simply a genius who has remained incredibly down to earth, decent and likable over the decades.
** Kristin Chenoweth is that rare fundamentalist Christian with a heart and mind (she describes herself as a "non-judgmental, liberal Christian"), overcoming a severe physical malady (Meniere’s disease) to continue performing at peak levels.
** Bernadette Peters has overcome personal tragedy and remains a consistently good person, dedicated to finding homes for stray dogs.
** Derek Jeter survived the cauldron of New York City sports celebrityhood, keeping his high personal role-model-worthy standards intact over two decades.
** Bob Woodward turned his role in the heroic Watergate investigative journalism effort into a career that has amazingly often come close to replicating it.
So, given a chance to sit down for lunch with one of these admirable people, whom would I choose?
I think I have the most questions for Bernadette Peters, given her career and personal story, so that would make a lunchtime conversation the easiest to navigate, helping me get over the nervousness I’d feel in the presence of such a beautiful celebrity.
She, McGraw, Torre, Keillor and Michelle Obama would probably be the best at putting me at ease. They just seem so genuine and relaxed.
Even with all the steady, durable attributes of these celebrities and others I admire, I still must be prepared for uncharacteristic developments. These are human beings, after all, and, by design or choice (mine), we really do not know intimate details of their lives.
Hell, a lot of the bad things we do know about entertainers, politicians and the like come out after they are dead.
But given the proximity of my age to those on my most-admired list, I don’t expect to be around much longer than they are, so any big negative posthumous revelations probably will be lost on me.
That’s another thing those listed people seem to have in common: Good health (although Torre battled prostate cancer a while ago).
There’s a message in there somewhere.
