Fame...

Never seen L.A.
The closest I've been to Hollywood
Is Dollywood
But when you get back to Beverly Hills
You can tell all your buddies
That you met one of the most famous people
In the country
-- From Brad Paisley's Famous

If I spend some time on it, and really concentrate hard, I can sign my name where you may be able to read it. When trying to figure out who signed a particular document, my friend James at Barnes and Noble would always ask "Is it legible, or is it Craig's signature?" I come from a family of lefties with less than adequate handwriting. Couple that with me being at the front end of a generation that really didn't have to write stuff by hand after high school, and you have the making of someone with the penmanship of a doctor, or serial killer, or both.

I do have a signature, however, that is deliberately hard to read. It is my autograph signature. This is the signature that I practiced as a child when I was pretty sure that my career path would lead me eventually to being the WCW World Wrestling Champion. Old dreams die hard, and somewhere along the way I realized that the signature I often use is the autograph signature.

I often wonder if this desire to be famous is universal. I doubt it is because I know people who would shun fame if it were offered to them. But since I probably wouldn't, I assume everyone else is as narcissistic as I.

Of course part of the desire to be famous also includes the desire to pretend not to believe you actually are. Wouldn't it be great to have tons of people run up to you in public to shake your hand, take your picture, and ask for your autograph and then be able to say "Me? I don't get it, why would you want my autograph? Oh well, ok."

I was speaking with a friend today about one of the strangest creatures of all, the "Christian Celebrity." He has had the opportunity to travel and do some speaking at churches around the country. He talked about how he knows what complete jerks some of "those guys" can be. They can also be seen as members of some upper echelon of Christian society. I remember years ago working at a large event for students. A popular Christian singer, Chris Rice, was performing. One of the students I was helping to check in asked if Rice had arrived yet. I told him yes, that I think he just walked by. The student responded, without a hint of sarcasm, that he assumed they would have had to helicopter him to the top of the hotel.

My friend noted that he didn't want to be seen in either of those ways. His self awareness is impressive. The fact that he is worried about it is a giant step in the right direction. I'm not sure if I would have that kind of maturity.

It is nice, though, to be known. If you work hard at something, and a body of people recognize you for it, I guess there is nothing wrong with that. The problem comes when you become so insulated and isolated from real life, from people who can tell you no, you can't do that. You can't talk to that person that way.

Hopefully we all have people like that. Those who can be honest, but still pretend to be impressed with our autograph. We did work hard on it, after all.