Fame Part 2

"Were not this desire of fame very strong, the difficulty of obtaining it, and the danger of losing it when obtained, would be sufficient to deter a man from so vain a pursuit."

Author: Joseph Addison
Source: in "The Spectator", no. 255


"And what after all is everlasting fame? Altogether vanity."
Author: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Marcus Aurelius)
Source: Med (4, 33)


"Read but o'er the Stories Of men most fam'd for courage or for counsaile And you shall find that the desire of glory Was the last frailty wise men put of; Be they presidents."
Author: Jan van olden Barneveldt
Source: reprinted by A.H. Bullen

http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Fame-Worth-Not/79703
Submitted by: timmysgirl
http://searchwarp.com/swa218008.htm
by E. Raymond Rock



Is fame really all that it is chalked up to be?  Does anyone really want to be famous?  If vainity is up their ally then probably yes.  So does this mean that I am vain...probably yes too.

Fame Part 1

What is fame?  Why is it so good?  How does one get the title?  Is it really worth it all?  Do I qualify for it?
Will fame really get me to heaven? 

Fame: "the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed"

"Fame is the thirst of youth."
- Lord Byron
For Byron, the desire for fame is a notable characteristic of the young, who are desperate to make their mark and leave an impact on society, and to forge their own identity. This is probably still the case, as people either give up on their desire for fame as they get older, or get distracted by other things.


"My career should adapt to me. Fame is like a VIP pass wherever you want to go."     
- Leonardo Dicaprio
Leonardo comments on why fame is so attractive to many people - it is a form of power over other people. Normally there are limits as to what we can do and get away with - limits to our freedom. For the famous celebrity however, it seems that they can do pretty much whatever they like, and go wherever they want, with people looking up to and respecting them.

"Even for learned men, love of fame is the last thing to be given up."
- Tacitus
And it is precisely this elevated status, this power over other people and greater freedom, that makes fame so attractive. That's why it can seem so incredibly tempting to those that don't have it. As Tacitus mentions above, the greed for fame is a powerful seducer, and is hard to give up for human beings.

For more Fame quotes check out this link: http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/thearticles/fame

Frozen in Time

Sitting seems to bring me nothing so I start to twirl and spin while thinking about what to do.  My body?  It does nothing, a fossil frozen in time.  As I circle faster and faster I feel my body becoming a whirling dervish, minus the sacred chants.  The lights flitter and flutter around and around slowly at first, then fast as can be.  My eyes roam back and forth back and forth trying to stay focused on an object in the distance.  Its very small and very dark.  My mysterious thing bobs through the lights coming towards me.  I think.  Yes!  It is coming to me, is this me waking up?

Taking a deep breath I open my eyes.  The darkness is starting to glow showing that the time has passed more quickly than I thought.  Wiggling and flexing my toes, and leg muscles and arms and fingers I realize I'm back in my body.  It was only a dream...a horrible one at that. 

Getting ready for the day I wonder why I would have frozen on stage?  Do I really get stage fright?  I am constantly in a spot light...well sort of.  People know who I am, and ask me to do lots of things for them.  Sometimes I feel like a slave, the general laborer gofer.  Popping over there for food for the little one, digging over here for toys to play with the older one, scrambling this way and that trying to find the phone that's blaring the man's ring.  Who wouldn't think about slavery every once in a while?

I'm the mom whose children scream and cry very LOUDLY at any store because they want their own way, and make it very hard to get to that alleged highway option.  I'm the wife who forgets to put away the sour cream after dinner, and find it the next morning on the counter where I left it.  I'm the customer who is rarely satisfied and so complains very LOUDLY when I don't get my way, I don't understand what the Rep on the phone is saying because of the language barrier, and static.  I'm the person who chases after real spot lights trying to avoid the spot lights that find me unprepared. 

 I am the person who's looking for fame fortune and glory!

Stage Fright

I float up and out into the audience.  Do I know these people staring at my body in a very creepy deathly still way?  What type of people are they anyways?  I focus on the woman in the middle of the crowd.  Her purple lined eyes lead me to her fiery red eyes like a target.  My eyesight zooms fast, faster, quick as lightning into her eyes like an arrow.  Bing!  I hit the target, with such speed that I pass right through the woman, as if she were an illusion.  Or am I the illusion?  Am I the odd one out?  Yes!  This has to be it.  I have found out why I was called here during this most random dream, and now any minute I'll wake up thinking "What the heck?  Where'd that dream come from?"
Waiting...



Waiting...


Still WAITING...
Um...OK I guess I'm not waking up right now.  So I float back to my body, dancing around it I try to get back into it.  Cartwheel turn and jump into my body's head.  I jump up only to glimpse my body still sitting like a downed duck before I pass through the ceiling of the building.  That didn't work, lets try something different.  Try and try, jumping, running, snuggling, snoozing but nothing puts my spirit back into my body. 
Has the end finally come?  Am I going to be doomed to this outer body experience for the rest of my...uh...life?  Will I ever wake up? 




will i?

One, two, three...

Standing there I look out at the audience my jaw down and open.  What the...how did I get here?  What am I supposed to do?  The microphone looks forlorn, scary, stark.  Want to know how quickly the nervous laughter kicks in?  From the audience, well I couldn't hear that over my own donkey bray.  I go on and on and on until

THUNK.............GASP!!

one...breathe...two...breathe...three...breathe
I open my eyes and look up, the lights are suffacating me.

Light...

Blue sky burns orange, red, pink smoking the clouds purple as the sun sinks below the horizon.  O dark night, how I love you. The sun sinks below the horizon so I can fall asleep.  Black skys, clear of star blinks, hide secrets of the soul. Allowing sleep to claim my mind, the lights turn on. My eyes start moving back and forth and back forth. Flashing, twirling, strobing, totally blinding my body to the senses as the dream enfolds me, slinging its silky black arms around me. Those arms start tightening, twisting, wrapping around my still body, but I feel nothing. I look around confused, seeing myself outside my body, like I’m watching a movie but somehow I’m on the set. Then it hits me

 I AM IN THE SPOT LIGHT!!