It used to be that to a "celebrity" you had to do something noteworthy and stay in the public eye for a significant period of time. When Andy Warhol supposedly coined the phrase about fleeting fame in 1968, we all seemed to try our best to have our own 15 minutes before we faded into total oblivion.
It's amazing what people have done to achieve notoriety and get that 15 minutes and more. Fame and wealth were always reserved for those with long careers or epic accomplishment. We think of people like Cornelius Vanderbilt, George Washington, John D. Rockefeller, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis, JFK,MLK, FDR, Jesus, William Shakespeare, Joseph Stalin, Plato, Babe Ruth...... and so many more whose names and accomplishments survive to this day and will on into the future.
And then we think of the umpteen millions of one-hit wonders, those who came and went in an instant, with names we don't remember because we never knew it in the first place. They are the pet rocks, hula hoops, chia pets, "agony of defeat" on Wide World of Sport", extras in the movies, athletes who made it to "the show" for one game, and even the mask makers of the current Covid crisis who will take their fifteen minutes and a lot of money to the bank. Some will retire on their 15 minutes while others will keep at it until we get tired of hearing the "where's the beef" slogans they initiated.
Whatever we do, we hope to have an impact on the people around us, but sometimes we are doomed to just being a face in the crowd. I guess the moral of the story: some are born to greatness, some to anonymity and some to 15 minutes of fame. Whatever you and I are called to do, do it to the best of out ability, and if we don't make the evening news, we can at least take a selfie and post it on social media, and maybe, just maybe, it will go viral and we will be able to handle the onslaught which follows. Best wishes to all as we say goodbye to MMXX in a few days.
Sent from my iPad
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