What Counts

SOMEHOW, YOU ALWAYS admire a person who, after achieving great celebrity, great success, or whatever it is, decides to chuck it all, walk away, and live like an ordinary, non famous john or jane doe, just like the rest of us. For anyone who does this, in the back of the mind, it must be a bit difficult. Celebrity is addictive; human is a social animal, which craves attention and social connections. Einstein, who on the surface despised his own fame, and did not understand it, could be seen, at times, making himself available for a camera or an interview, even when he did not have to. He learned to live with fame, and even seemes to occasionally enjoy it. And he certainly never did anything dramatic, like end his career, to avoid it. Athletes Bjorn Born and Jim Brown come to mind, both wildly famous and successful celebrity-athletes, both of whom retired long before any signs of age required it. Walking away from direct fan adulation musthave been tough for both, but both understand that it would soon end anyway, and both wanted to go out on top, which they most certainly did. But these two don't exactly fit the mold of escape from fame; Borg reconsidered his premature retirement, and attempted a comeback in tennis, and didn't do well. Jim Brown continued in the limelight, as a movie star, rather than a running back. J.D. Salinger comes to mind. He wrote a book which became such a huge seller that the attention and celebrity it brought him overwhelmed him; he couldn't handle it, it was too much, too different, too soon. So, he retreated to a log cabin in the New England woods, where he continued writing,in private, but not publishing, and it turns out he wrote a great deal that we did not know about until quite recently, upon Salinger's death. Maybe, just maybe, he intended for us to read it after he was gone. Now he's gone, and now we're going to read his other books. We hope he doesn't mind, wherever he is. All these years, we thought Salinger had quit on us, and we lamented his lack of production after "Catcher In the Rye"....but we spoke too soon. Actor(actress?) Meg Ryan starred in three top watched movies: "When Harry Met Sally", "You've Got Mail". and "Sleepless In Seattle". Definitelly a stepping stone career to ever greater heights. She can really act, and could've been a rarer creature: a successful actor as a senior citizen. But, instead she moved to New York City, lost herself in Manhattan, and, other than living with John Mellencamp the famous singer song writer, isn't doing much to attract universal attention. Whe wanted a quiet life, with real friends, family, and activities, far from the fantasy world of tinseltown, and more power to her. We'll have to do without another Kathyrn Hepburn, but maybe meg'll be happier, and that's what counts.