Chasing Dreams? Fuggedaboutit!

I am happy that I am not famous. Oh, the money I could use, but not the attention or adulation. I see famous people pass through where I work and they all have their entourage with them that look like those fish that are always alongside sharks catching the last morsels of whatever falls by the wayside.

There were two things I wanted to be when I was young, a drummer in a famous band, or a comedic actor that could make the people laugh. That was it. I was naturally good at both. I had no way of achieving any of those dreams. I had no guidance or support to chase my dreams. I didn’t know how too.

One of my first impressions of these dreams of fame was Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. I thought he was funny, and a drummer. I even wanted to change my name to Micky. It was either him or Ringo.

I also grew up watching Abbott & Costello every Sunday morning. I loved their humor. I also watched the Bullwinkle & Rockey show on Sunday mornings. I considered that humor more adult-like because of the verbal exchanged between the characters. The same thing for shows like Get Smart. Later I discovered that they were written by two comedy greats themselves, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. If I could ever be famous like those two I wouldn’t mind.

I would not like all the attention that famous people get. I like my privacy and my space. How some of them allow people into their private lives for an autograph is beyond me. I mean, they are just people doing things they love, who are we to invade their privacy? They don’t owe us anything. Why aren’t we asking our pharmacist for their autograph every time they fill out our prescription? Without them, we might die!

Oh well, maybe I extended my imagination a little bit for that point.

I think that famous people should be asking us for our autographs since we are paying good money to watch their movies, listen to their singing and laughing at their jokes. I believe most of them are happy doing what they do and that’s alright by me. They wouldn’t be “famous” if we didn’t adulate what they do.

Why do we hold certain people in high esteem, like athletes, singers and actors? Do we see ourselves in them? We do dress and act like them, don’t we? How many people out there see themselves as a Tom Cruise kind of guy? Personally, I always saw myself as a Tim Conway kind of comedian. Either him or Bob Newhart. I liked their style of comedy and the way that they delivered it, very subtle and honest to the point of being believable.

Being a drummer in my twenties I tried to copy Stewart Copeland’s style. I thought he was the coolest drummer around. Very unique at the time. I went on to copy other drummers of that period as well, like Terry Chambers of XTC and Topper Headon of the Clash. Other influences were jazz drummers, like Joe Morello from the Dave Brubeck Quartet and my favorite Jerry Granelli from the Charlie Brown music with Vincent Guarldi Trio. I’m no where near their talent, but they inspired me the most.

I often wonder how my life would be different if I chased my dreams. If I had people around to encourage me. As a middle child of five siblings, I kinda got lost in the mix. My brothers were good athletes and seemed to be tuned into academics. I on the other hand was a day dreamer. I cut out my own niche growing up. I listened to ‘the other music’ and naturally made my classmates in school laugh. My mother called me ‘The Alien.’

There was a time when the things that I liked were becoming cool because it was alternative. I now think that that time was an opportune time for me to blossom. I think that my failure in that is because I wasn’t around the right people. There was no drive in the people I associated with and they didn’t think they were good enough. Shame on me. But I didn’t know how to search out ‘my kind of people’ because I didn’t think about it at that time.

I did want to be famous, or at least well known. I’m kind of happy I am not famous now. I guess I’m famous in my own mind and I’m okay with that. For fun, I sometimes speak out loud to my partner in a crowded room about my next project in movies or a new book that I wrote to see if anyone looks my way. It’s kind of a routine we do. It’s fun. So far no lookers have eavesdropped on our conversation and asked who I am. To be honest, I don’t know what I would say.

You see, I live in my own world of imagination. I have performed stand up comedy and improvisation, I felt comfortable on stage and had a good reception. Then Covid came along and doused that. Yeah, I know, “excuses.” I could go back to it but my work schedule keeps me busy with early morning wake times. I value my sleep. Instead of performing now, I write. Medium is a good outlet for me. In fact, it has been a saving grace for my imagination. I have actually encouraged other people to jump on board because I think that they would benefit from writing their stories. I see something in them.

I’m on Facebook, but only to keep in touch with my siblings and friends I think highly of. I’m on Twitter and only have a few followers, less than one hundred. I follow less than two hundred, and many never post anything. So I guess I am not meant for becoming famous. Which, again, is fine by me. I’m really just a happy with life kind of guy. Everything is kind of lining up in a good way lately and I enjoy the people I am with. Except for the whingers at work. What a bunch of sad sacks. But I don’t know where they are coming from and I will always be open to them if they care to associate with me.

Anywho, maybe in my next life I will be famous. Or maybe I was already in a past life? Oooohh, spooky! At this point in my life I will be my own legend and continue to do the household chores. As Men At Work said, “Business As Usual.” C’est la vie!