Not so long ago I heard a radio interview with Clint Eastwood about his stint in spaghetti westerns he filmed back in the 60's. The interviewer asked him about his signature squint and wanted to know if that was an acting choice on his part. His answer was that the combination of the camera lights and the hot Italian sun caused that, and he essentially had no control over it. So, the expression that has defined him and for that matter has made him iconic for better than fifty years was essentially an accident. It's strange how life shakes out huh? It seems something we all thought was a premediated act to develop an iconic acting style was nothing more than him just getting by in the moment. It's funny that we sometimes give people a lot of credit for being brilliant when essentially the part of our brains that wins the day is doing nothing more than taking part in a bit of self-preservation.
My own writing is highly accidental. The editor of my hometown paper babysat me and essentially helped change my diapers. Not to mention that she once rubbed the bottom of my foot with Mentholatum after I accidently stepped on their floor furnace with my bare feet. I still remember the sizzling sound it made like a cold strip steak hitting a hot grill. Now, where was I, oh yes back the writing. I always read the paper, and once every blue moon I would read something that would get under my skin like a bedbug on a fuzzy blanket and feel the need to weigh in on the topic. I would usually proceed to write my letters to the editor under the name "I rant, therefore I am." At some point it started a buzz in that town of about 800 souls and they asked me to start writing a weekly article. And here I am nearly a dozen years later still doing it. At one point grandma advised me to keep my opinions to myself but where would that have gotten me? See what I mean, life is at best accidental, and at worst nothing more than a travesty brought on by consuming too many apple fritters. I will remind you that many of life's inventions were discovered by accident. Some that quickly come to mind are Post It Notes, the microwave oven, Superglue, potato chips, and as it turns out even chocolate chip cookies.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to living our lives. Take a quick look back on Hollywood movies where the main characters were simple people who led extraordinary lives. Fictional characters like Forrest Gump, Karl Childers in the movie Sling Blade, and of course Rocky Balboa. Americans love an underdog. Not so long ago a Millennial type tried to tell me that there was no point to the story of Rocky and I quickly disagreed. The point to that movie is this, in this life if you want something you HAVE to go after it. Nothing that is worthwhile is just going to land in your lap without any effort. I will concede however that it is not exactly a high brow film. In addition, most people think that the movie Rocky is about the sport of boxing, but they couldn't be more wrong. The movie is a love story where the main character just happens to be a boxer. It should never be overlooked that some people (but especially men) are just a hammer, meaning that mentally they don't have much rolling around their brain than a couple of marbles and possibly some saw dust. In that particular movie I think they refer to it as being "punchy." I can identify with this phenomenon in that I often feel that way before I have coffee, and also sometimes after my third cup. But I will be the first one to remind you that the world still needs hammers. Everyone likes to think that at least once in their lives they owned a dog with pure blood that could win every AKC dog show they were entered in. But isn't there something endearing and loveable about a pooch that is as dumb as a box of rocks, can barely make it to his food dish, and lives to take extended naps and fill your Persian rugs full of sand burs and fleas? I will remind you that in the 66 books of the King James Bible there is not one mention of the benefits of climbing the company ladder and in all of that madness it seems Jesus was the only real over-achiever.
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