Heroes

"Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it'll always get you the right ones."

That is a quote I came across today from the late, great John Lennon. One of my true heroes.

My first hero was probably New  York Jets quarterback Joe Namath. I honestly don't remember watching Super Bowl III, which helped solidify his status as a legend among NFL legends, but I'm sure I did. I've seen every Super Bowl since the first one (Kansas City versus Green Bay), so I had to have watched that one, too.

Namath was great, and the absolute ultimate in cool. I even got a pair of white football shoes when I was 14 years old, playing quarterback at Oaks Dads Club in Houston. We had a really good team, the Panthers, but we could have been even better if our quarterback had been a leader, instead of an arrogant ass. I remember getting tossed from one game by a referee, who pretty much dragged me to the sidelines, but I don't remember the reason. Another time, my own coach took me out after I grabbed my center's facemask and shook it, as I chewed him out for something.

Told you I was an ass.

And my attitude never got any better. By the next year, I had quit playing sports altogether. This was the first major mistake of my life. All of a sudden, I had no identity. I didn't have a clue who I was, or what to do anymore. Sports had always been my life. Baseball, football, basketball. Eventually, I found somewhere else to "fit in," and it wasn't with the right crowd of kids. I sort of foundered after that for awhile, for some years. I thought I was having fun, but what I was really doing was wasting a whole lot of talent and potential.

It took awhile, but I finally got things together, although I'm still trying to figure out who I am exactly, and where I fit in. Too often, I feel like that kid looking out the window, wanting to join in the fun but not sure exactly how to do it. Lately, though, I think I'm finding my identity -- John, the writer. I like that one, and I think it fits OK. After I get another book or two out there, maybe I'll call myself an author. I'm not sure one book really makes you an author. A one-hit wonder, maybe.
 
And, like Lennon said, I don't have a whole lot of true friends -- probably have more than I realize -- but I have some really good ones. Maybe that's because I'm a pretty honest guy. Too honest sometimes, probably. I'm not sure I'm always honest with myself, but I know that I'm pretty darn honest in my writing. It's the only way I know how to do it.

My heroes now include just about anybody who is truly happy, with themselves and their life. Those people have it all figured out -- the important stuff, anyway. I'm workin' on it, and I'm gettin' there, slowly but surely. The thing about it is, life is a journey, not a destination. So the way I see it is, if I'm doing it right by the time I get to the end, then I win.

Another day of the "30 days of positive" project  nearly completed, and I haven't blown it yet.

Ciao, y'all ...