It’s First Wednesday—OK it’s really Second Wednesday–Happy New Year!—so it’ time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post.
January question – Describe someone you admired when you were a child. Did your opinion of that person change when you grew up?
As a child, I had a lot of idols—mostly fictional ones! I was (and still am) an avid reader, and my books were closer friends than the neighborhood children, who preferred to play house and sedate games like hide-and-seek instead of reenacting the latest scene from The Lone Ranger or Tarzan. As a young teen, of course, I idolized the teen heartthrobs I saw on television: Michael Landon from Bonanza, Ross Martin from The Wild, Wild West, Jay Silverheels from The Lone Ranger, and Pete Deuel from Alias Smith and Jones. Notice a genre pattern there? Yes, I grew up in the era of the TV Westerns.
I always tended to idolize the sidekick rather than the (boring) Lawful-Good Hero. And I preferred a Trickster character who used their wits to get out of danger over a brawny fighter. My fictional tastes have changed little since my childhood. I still prefer reading about Tricksters and trying to have my own heroes solve their problems with cunning rather than brute force.
As I aged, however, my opinions of the idolized television and book characters did change. As all children do, I came to realize that the part the actors played on a show had little to do with their true personalities. Many of my idols had real-life problems that they kept hidden from the public. One of my favorites actually committed suicide while working on the show, necessitating a quick-change of actors and breaking the hearts of countless young girls around the world.
Now, I try not to confuse a celebrity with the front they put on to please the public. It can be difficult with some of them, who are talented actors rarely breaking out of that role. Of course, there are genuinely good celebrities out there—people who try to help those less fortunate or who use their celebrity to try to make a difference in the world. Those are the ones I admire as an adult. Who are your idols?
