FAME

photo courtesy of: www.bigfoto.com

                                           FAME

Fame.  Ah! yes.  Fame.  Something so many are striving for.
Around here it appears it costs lots and lots of money to get
things named after you so you can be remembered for ever.

Last night while driving home I went over a section of road
"named" after a famous local personality.  It brought to mind
an incident from a few years ago.

When I moved into this area in 1973 this man was a well
know business leader.  I only knew of him from advertising
for his business at that time.  But did not know him.

As happens sometimes, he went into politics for some reason
or other.  And as I was working in an luxury auto dealership
I eventually met the man.  In fact I met and talked to him a
number of times over the years.  Perhaps time is forgiving,
but contrary to most politicians all I remember is liking the
guy.

I do not know how far his fame has spread.  But this section
of road - well, O.K. it's a tunnel - was named after him for
his work with the state.  All so, one of the local cities has a
park named after him. [Only the hospital and the bill collectors
remember me.]  I think that he is way ahead of most of us on
this fame thing.

The last time I met him he was out of politics and retired, the
best I know.  He had come into the dealership to get something
or other done to his car.  Now you know politicians, they cannot
just pick up a book and read like real people, while they wait.
They have to go around talking to people.

What was almost funny, if it had not been so pathetic, was watching
him go around the lobby and the show room looking for folks to
talk with.  It was like nobody even knew him, or even wanted to
talk to him. Here was a real live famous person and know one even
seemed to recognized him.  Perhaps it was just a bad day.

After watching this for a while I got to feeling so bad for him that
I went over greeted him, and talked with him for a while.  It
seemed to brighten him up.

So much for FAME.  It does not last long.

"De not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house increased;
For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him."
(Psalms 49:16,17 NKJV)