FAME...15 Minutes and Counting

Well, Zac Sunderland's "15 minutes of fame" was just about that long, unfortunately. On August 27, the British sailor Mike Perham, who is a few months younger than Zac, claimed the record. My impression was that Zac didn't do it for the fame. He did it for all the right reasons that remain true even without the record title.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/28/mike-perham-17yearold-bri_n_270932.html)

As I checked different sites to confirm the details of Zac's transfer of title, I also "lite-researched" (googled and binged) that famous "15 minute" quote by Andy Warhol. I spent at least 15 minutes just reading the origin of the quote, about Warhol, and other equally iconic remarks he made. They cracked me up (and made for a fun 15 minutes of history/pop-culture education). After his original "15 minutes of Fame" became so over-used, Warhol changed it up (and quite possibly prophetically defined blogging):

"In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." I'm bored with that line. I never use it anymore. My new line is, "In fifteen minutes everybody will be famous."
http://blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2006/11/andy-warhol-fifteen-minutes-of-fame.html

I spent another 15 minutes more on "research". I YouTubed David Bowie's "Fame" (also seemingly 15 minutes of song) and "Fame" the musical. Then I "googled-imaged" Zac Sunderland and was surprised to find my face right behind one of the pictures of Zac! I clicked on the pic (Zac Sunderland was more 500 x 750 - 59k - jpg celebgalz.com)--then "enlarged this image" and left it on my computer screen for oh... about 15 minutes! Figured this might be the closest I get to "Fame"! Face it -- in the obscurity that is life in the 'burg, the best shot at celebrity-status is most likely basking in the glow of another's 15 minutes. In my case it's a kid of 17 from California.

Unless I count the other California celebrity story. True story*. I was out in Los Angeles, in Venice Beach. The famous boardwalk along the beach from Venice to Santa Monica (with the Pier and the famous aforementioned ferris wheel) is iconic in itself, but a few blocks east of the ocean is a Mainstreet with shops, restaurants, coffee houses--not unlike our Mainstreet back in the 'burg--only much more eclectic.

I was at one of these local spots and ended up talking with the people at the table next to me. That's not too surprising because I end up talking to a lot of people a lot of the time. I didn't give it much thought after that (actually no thought after that).

About a month later, I was sitting in my night class at the University and I got this text: "Watch this show on FOX tonite". I recognized the area code as California, but not the number, but I didn't want to let on that I didn't know who it was, so I texted, "why?"

The next text back said, "'cause I'm in it!"

That's a pretty big deal, so I thought I better try and figure out who this might be. "Really?!," I replied, "That's great--I'll be sure to watch" (hoping that I might be able to recognize some one in the show).

Then he sent another message, "we met in Venice Beach"

Not really a big clue there since I already narrowed down the area code. I said, "I'll be sure to watch and good luck w/ the show," then had to get back to paying attention to my professor.

I googled the show to take a look at the cast and jog my memory. I thought I recognized one in the ensemble as my possible mystery texter. I would have watched the show too, but I had class the same nights as it was on, plus I'm not even sure my t.v. works, and I don't have dvr, tivo or even cable --yeah, I'm that isolated (though that's partly by choice-- not because the 'burg is technology void)!

A short time later, I sent a text to him to see how the show was going and to try to confirm my hunch of who he was. Not too long after that, I was back out in Venice and we texted to meet up again at the same place we first met. I made sure I got there first. Turns out I had a whole conversation with someone I thought might be my mystery celebrity texter, but was not.

The real celebrity texter showed up next. It was too funny (but then again, I'm easily amused 8-D). We hung out for at least 15 minutes--actually more. He invited my friends and me to a few fun events going on in L.A., which was pretty cool! Since then, we have remained friends. He's a great guy, always kind and very personable towards me--not the ego-centric, arrogant or self-absorbed celeb most think of as famous people.

This past week, after a former high school classmate read the previous postings on this blog, she emailed me about all the things she's done since high school. It's been fun to reconnect with her, but a bit depressing.

After high school, she graduated from college, traveled the world, and worked for International corporations with high profile individuals. She pursued her profession, then married a successful man and now enjoys her children, a career, and a wonderful life.

As I read her email, a couple favorite lines from 2 different movies came to mind: 1) "I think I just threw up a little in my mouth" (from Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story); and 2) "I'm heading for the shower curtain [to hang myself]" (says Carrie sarcastically, played by Sara Jessica-Parker in "Sex in the City" after her "Big" break-up).

It's not that I wasn't impressed, inspired, and awed by all that this seemingly unassuming classmate in high school had actually gone out and accomplished once she got out of the 'burg, because I am. It just made me feel so unaccomplished in my small life and small town--going nowhere in a hurry here. My life did not turn out as I aspired it would-- and when I was living the dream, with a happy husband, household full of children and homestead we loved-- it turned on a dime into a nightmare that I've just recently been able to wake up from.

I'm thankful for the re-connection with her and though we weren't necessarily friends in high school, I count myself fortunate to have a friendship now stemming from our common hometown history.

I was sitting at my laptop, still feeling a little funky, emailing her back.

Then a text came in: "My show debuts again for the coming season in Sept. and I have a movie coming out in Feb."

It was my famous friend again. Suddenly I felt a little better. I had a connection to the outside, more exciting, world. So I locked that text in my cell and kept it on my display screen for about... oh, 15 minutes. :D

"What I Did on Summer Vacation"

Every Autumn at the beginning of a new school year, countless teachers across countless classrooms pose the age-old question to an incoming crop of fresh-faced students:

"What did you do over summer vacation?"

I'm sure anyone of you can recall a year in grade school or maybe even middle or high school when that one teacher's first assignment was this very question -- and you probably remember what you wrote whether you went to summer camp, grandpa's farm, the big family vacation of a lifetime to DisneyWorld or some other world wonder destination! :D

One of the bigget benefits of being in education is continuing to have summer's off and the seasonal rhythm of the school-year calendar--it's almost like never having to really have grow up!

The downside of the summer's off upside--is that in education there's also limited grown-ups to interact with on a daily basis which means you're pretty much surrounded by kids all day. (In my case, these students don't speak English as their heritage language either--which is subject for a whole 'nother blog!) To live in the same small community as work-- can also leave you feeling a little left out of all that is going on in the grown-up real world. When people ask if I "live in the 'burg?", I often reply, "No, I'm dying a slow painful death of obscurity there!"

Okay, that's a bit melodramatic, but as we all know too much of even a good thing is too much! I've learned the best balance to living in the 'burg is to get out of it on a regular basis.

So that is exactly "What I did with my summer vacation."

And it turned out pretty fun! The following article is what can happen when small town girl hits the big city --or at least the West Coast:


Subject: Zac Sunderland (17 yr old to sail world) article by Tamara Leigh-- fun day in CA
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009

ZAC SUNDERLAND & Living Life Large Like Gump

Zac Sunderland, age 17 years old, sailed into Marina del Rey, California on Thursday, July 17, 2009, as the youngest solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe. On June 14, 2008, in his 1972 36' Islander Sailboat, Zac launched his 28,000 nautical mile voyage across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, with stops in ports in nearly every continent. Zac survived raging storms with sleepless nights, equipment failure, the dead zone of the doldrums, and close encounters of the personal kind--with real world pirates.

A far way from my own home, that same morning of Zac's world breaking news story, I was out for a run a few blocks from the Marina when the opportunity arose for me to attend Zac's homecoming reception and press conference with a colleague of Craig Communications Company, which was being covered by ESPN, the major networks and news services at the Del Rey Yacht Club.

In Forrest Gump fashion, and not one to turn down a notable event, I jumped in the shower and threw on the most nautical outfit I packed this trip. At the Yacht Club, I had the opportunity to meet Zac, get his autograph and take a photo with him. Zac is the same age as my own son, and as unassuming as any teenage guy despite his extraordinary accomplishment.

Of his trip, Zac says, "It's hard to comprehend everything I've had the privilege to experience. After more than a year alone at sea, I'm struck by how much people my age can actually achieve, if only they have the passion and ability to think beyond what society tells them is possible."

Addressing his audience inside the Yacht Club, Zac thanked his sponsors*, supporters, and most of all, his parents, then sat down to eat and hang out with his friends. In a room filled with accomplished individuals in their own right, like Praxis Universal's Brett Thompson, producer and documentarian chronicalling Zac's expedition, I found myself seated next to Mr. Lowell M.I. Safier, President of Evon Matheau, Inc. Lowell is at the opposite end of the age spectrum from Zac and has compiled as long as a lifetime resume as Zac is likely to acquire if he keeps up his current clip of achievements.

As humble as Zac, Lowell's perspective of life as a voyage is that each of our lives are measured by the "contrails we leave in the sky," or in Zac's case, the wake in the water behind him as he sailed. "Contrails," Lowell explained, "are the trails of smoke left by the airplane as it passes, and it is these lines that identify our lives. Where are we going, where have we been, and what do we do to leave our mark?"

I also had the privilege to meet Zac's parents, Laurence and Marianne Sunderland. Zac is the oldest of seven children, and as the mother of five myself, I know more kids does not mean less worry for any one of them. As Zac's younger siblings swirled around their mother, I knew what relief she must feel now to have Zac safely home...for the moment. Zac, nor the rest of the Sunderland crew, are not likely to be ones to sit still safely on the shore for long. My heart goes out to this amazing mom for many more long nights, weeks, months, and years ahead awaiting the safe return of adventurous children.

When I asked Zac's dad how they balanced the incredible pride in Zac's expedition with it's accompanied anxiety for his safety, survival, and success, Laurence said he was confident in Zac's preparation the three years prior to setting sail and knowing Zac grew up more at home on water than on land.

I suspected, and it proved to be true, that Zac's parents had schooled him not only in the skills of sailing, but in living life with fortitude of spirit, faith in himself and faith in God. In an era of "hover-parents", who cripple and confine what their childlren might accomplish, it was refreshing to be in the company of parents who empowered their children to take on the world--and that is exactly what Zac did! We need more kids like Zac and more parents like the Sunderlands.

Zac and his parents reminded me of another maker of heroic men, the late, great Vince Lombardi, Coach of the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin, who said, "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle [or in Zac's case, the cabin of boat]--victorious.

In what started out as an ordinary day for me, turned into a "Forrest Gump"-like movie moment in an extraordinary opportunity to meet Zac Sunderland, his parents, Laurence and Marianne, and be on board for Zac's historic voyage return celebration.

My own 17 year-old son has been lobbying hard for a motorcycle, and I've refused saying they're sold with a body bag. (Okay, so I know they're not really, but motorcycle accidents scare me.) The storms of life left me and my family capsized and cautious, far removed from the faith and adventure that used to mark life in our household a decade ago, not unlike the Sunderlands. After a day in the midst of such accomplishment as Zac's, I'm inspired with restored confidence in all that can be achieved --at any age.

> > > *Sponsors for Sunderland's expedition include Produce for Kids, UK Halsey Sailmakers, ClearPoint Weather, RealSweet, Sunset Tomatos, Westlake Yacht Club, Bandacorp.com<http://bandacorp.com/>, Pinkston Group Public Relations, Sunderland's Yacht Management, Schafer Marine, Boat Us, SearMar Marine Spot, Quickline, and Oboroo. For more information on sponsors and Zac Sunderland's expedition, visit www.zacsunderland.com<http://www.zacsunderland.com/>.

Hometown Happenings


Blog from the 'burg...In case you missed it -- the highlights of hometown happenings this summer besides the always Big 4th of July parade and community picnic in the park, there was the 150th celebration of the County Fair held at Fireman's Park. If you were Class of 1984 -- then some of you didn't miss it with your 25th reunion held at the fair... and you may have caught the Otto kereoke show under the not so "big top" tent back by the farm equipment. Good place for all that "squeelin'"! 8]

If you make it back to the 'burg before summer ends -- there are 2 more Friday nights of "Summer Sounds" concerts in City Park this Friday and the next. While we don't have Santa Monica Pier's famous ferris wheel as a backdrop and it's not nearly the magnitude of Millenium Park's lakefront concerts in Chicago -- the concerts provide for a night out with what makes the 'burg such a great place to be (most the time) with family and friends-- like one big "Cheers"--only outside on the lawn an no "Norm" (unless you count Pat M. -jk Pat).

The start of another school year is almost here and the high school has a new principal :D & all the same old Bulldog spirit! Go Dawgs! In case your feeling nostalgic--or don't get the News Gossip --the more things change in the 'burg -- the more they stay the same :)

"floater in the fishbowl...but don't flush yet!"

Hard thing about living in ths same place for so long is that it's a big fishbowl where most think they are the big fish in the little pond -- but like most "fish tales" that grow from the actual catch on the end of the hook... the same stays true for stories that circulate in what another girlfriend and I sometimes refer to as "stupidville" (which is fodder for future blog under heading of "small town, small minds, big mouths").

It can be a blessing that everybody knows everything (or seems that way) in town. It can be the safety net under your children as they walk the tight rope across adolescence -- that there are good, caring people in the community who are there for them if they fall-- or it can be the "village" where you find out stuff you need to know in the grocery store line --like soccer fees are due and tryouts are tonight--which you would've otherwise missed in the myriad of activities on the family calendar. It's having really great kids say hi to you everywhere you go... and back up support for your own kids when you can't be everywhere.

But the curse is that it can be harsh to live in the fishbowl. Short of packing up and moving cross country (which I've considered), life in the 'burg means that most everybody knows your business and everydbody else's business.

That can be harsh--as anyone who has made mistakes knows -- given any length of time living in one place whether it is your community, neighborhood, local school district or office/workplace -- sh*t happens...and people are going to know about it.

They say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I say, "if it's painful enough to nearly kill you -- it really, really hurts!!" Whatever life hardship(s) that hit you--they can be hard to heal from and it may be a long, painful process. Or you may be just be momentarily stunned and get your bounce back pretty quick. Either way, you may find yourself (and your world) upside down and floating topside as a near goner.

It's just that in the fishbowl everyone is pretty quick to want to flush you down the toilet before you have the chance to catch your breath, clear your lungs and be back to swimming strong again.

Blog from the 'burg

The idea for this blog arose from a reconnection with a hometown high school classmate, who for blog purposes, is the "Eastcoast Editor" (unless she choses to be known otherwise). There's something about a connection to where we grew up, that no matter how far globally we go from there, our roots remain, for good or not so good, planted in that part of our lives. My apple didn't fall far from the family tree, and I remained for most my life in the 'burg, and raised my own "apples" here, which is both blessing and curse. But it is the stuff that lives are made of, so...

In just beginning this blog, the following quote from the Introduction in John Steinbeck's book, "The Winter of Our Discontent" will be my disclaimer:

"Readers seeking to identify the fictional people and places here described would do better to inspect their own communities and search their own hearts, for this is about a large part of America today."

(John Steinbeck's, "The Winter of Our Discontent", April 1961, Viking Press, New York, New York, 625 Madison Ave., 10022).

I believe Hollywoods usual disclaimer goes something more like, "this is a fictional work and any resemblence to any real people, places or events is strictly coincidental..." or something to that effect. So, point being, we all have our perceptions, opinions and point of views of what life is...that's all this is meant to be...and hopefully amusing and a bit interesting as well.

til next blog...