Fame is Fleeting
July 18, 2011 (Monday)
Marilyn Monroe was a screen star who died in 1962 at the age of 36. She would have been 85 last month. A 26-foot high sculpture has been created on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, depicting her pose in a famous scene from one of her movies. The statue has prompted many comments, favorable and unfavorable. From my generation’s perspective, perhaps one of the most interesting questions raised by a young observer in a crowd of onlookers was, “Who is Marilyn Monroe?”
From being the most recognizable name in Hollywood, to being totally unknown to a new generation, she has traveled a familiar road. Life goes on, with or without us. How many once-famous people can you name?
Can you name all the presidents of the United States? Every one of them was famous in his own time. While none today is totally unknown, some of us can’t tell you all the names. There are only 44 — seems like we could remember them all. View list here.
There were a lot of movie stars in the silent movie era who were very famous in their day, but almost totally unknown to the average person today. (View a list here). Fame is fleeting, isn’t it?
A fellow needing a job had a friend named, “Sam.” He heard that Sam no longer worked at a local company, so he applied for Sam’s job. The owner said, “I’m sorry, we have no need for more employees at the present time.” “But,” said our fellow, “I want the vacancy that Sam left.” “Sam didn’t leave no vacancy,” replied the boss.
We like to think we will leave a vacancy when we are gone. Doesn’t hurt to think positively.