#345

Talk of eccentricities in people is always interesting. Talk of a lack of eccentricities is also interesting. Because they're in there somewhere. Quirks and sillinesses, odd preferences, hobbies; they love trapeze artistry or Kung Fu (see the movie Office Space!) or rare orchids, Russian dolls, breakdancing, pipe cleaner art, collecting geodes, whatever. No one is average in every interest. When you're a parent, you see what your kids gravitate to, eccentric or otherwise; it's the 'private' version of a person (in the early stages of development, no less). We also see unguarded bits of our parents, siblings, and others we're close to, their facade-less and natural selves. Regarding 'public personas,' we see those too; but it feels tricky for me with M 'n' m now; is their real self more with me or with friends? I catch glimpses of them speaking, acting, posturing around friends, when they might presume they're unmonitored until I turn a corner, climb the stairs, run into them somehow. In those moments they seem to be the same M 'n' m I know, and that's good. I don't spy but I don't stay away either. My uncle Kirby used to tell his kids, "Don't forget who you are." I like that. Is it more difficult in teenagerhood to be authentic? Maybe it's easier. We're youthful, energetic, emotionally novicelike and not sewn up; we've yet to bury forever the interests that others – or we, ourselves – throw dirt on. I will tell M 'n' m: If you like to paint, paint. Sing? Sing. Dance the samba, the mamba, tango, salsa, cha-cha, rumba, merengue? Uh, I'm sure there's a studio or club somewhere. I wish I could do a latin number. And if you like to write... okay, I'll keep writing. Earning a living is important, and it takes money to do things, but always remember what One Republic tells us: No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars. (And that sounds nice but you'll still need to fly the nest, launch, get a job.)

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Yeah we'll be counting stars
... Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
On just doing what we're told

... Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.
I feel the love and I feel it burn
Down this river every turn
Hope is a four-letter word,
Make that money watch it burn
... Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly
... Said no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars
     — One Republic, Counting Stars

You should write too, songs, stories, poems, lyrics, nonsense; it's all good. Thankfully, I've stirred up the habit in Papa Mike.

"We're comin' with the lyrics and we're comin' strong!"
     — Beastie Boys

"I had a short-lived but troublesome worry. What if writing comedy was a dead end because one day everything would have been done and we writers would just run out of stuff? I assuaged myself with my own homegrown homily: Comedy is a distortion of what is happening, and there will always be something happening. This problem solved, I grew more confident as a writer..."
     — Steve Martin

"I think it's terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people's expectations. I think they generally produce their worst work when they do that. The other thing I would say is that if you feel safe in the area you're working in, you're not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel your capable of being in, go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don't feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you're just about in the right place to do something exciting.
     — David Bowie