Regis Philbin. You know, that guy has been on TV for ages. Well, he retired this past week. He has logged 17,000 hours on television, which is quite a bit even for an 80 year old guy. I was reading through the paper the other day and passed over an article about his last show coming up on Friday (which is a couple days ago now). In the article, it was mentioned how over the years he expressed love and appreciation for New York City. The article quipped that Regis was more of an advocate for the city than Mayor Bloomberg himself.
I briefly thought of the times when I’ve caught the show, and I remember appreciating his straight-forward approach to things. He never seemed to skirt around issues, and somehow managed to walk the fine line of being blunt without being a total jerk-face. As I thought about it more, I realized the majority of the time I saw the show was when I was growing up, (my mom really liked Kathy Lee). Me, I liked watching because this Regis guy was pretty funny.
Upon further reflection, Regis would have been the 3rd most influential male influence in my life: next to my dad and uncle, I spent more time “around” him than any other guy before I was a teenager.
After reading that article, and remembering how Regis spoke of the city, I realized that is probably one of the main reasons I’ve always had a fondness toward the city. Now that I am here, I have my own love and appreciation for the city, but the desire to visit here came from somewhere. For a while I thought my fascination came from what I knew of Spider-man, but I never actually read anything Spider-man until I was a teenager, long after I had a strong desire to come to the city.
It’s odd how such subtle things can have an impact on us, I started picking up a love for a city in part from a television show my mother watched. Moving here had more to do with God working in my life, and the ability to survive and desire to stay have more to do with knowing God has a purpose for me here.
God uses our past, even aspects we may wish to forget, or subtle instances to which we may be oblivious. Also, kids pick up on things; innuendos fall flat, but if stories are told well (and love for a city is expressed consistently) kids understand.
What subtle references/influences from your childhood motivated decisions you have (or haven’t) made? What things do you like and appreciate because you were exposed to them by your parents or guardians activities? Also, if you’re a parent, what (or who) will be your kids’ Regis Philbin?
I inherited a love for pens from my Dad. Some of the coolest things I remember doing with him where when we would go to pen shows. He bought me my first fountain pen when I was 13 and I thought it was the coolest thing!
ReplyDeleteThis will probably reveal the not-so-hidden dorkiness inside of me, but I love the way different pens write. I like scratchier pens when I am in some moods and smooth flowing pens in other moods. I like all the different colors of inks and tip widths (fine, medium, bold, etc). Like I did countless times as a child with my dad, I can still find myself lost in the pen isle at Wal-Mart for 30 minutes at a time drooling over the assortment of pens. And Office Supply Stores... well, my dad and I could spend hours in there admiring all the pens. And though I have gotten better at not purchasing for my addiction, it is not unusual for me to have a minimum of 4-5 different kinds of pens in my purse at any given time.
I guess I don't share your appreciation of office supply stores, they have no more mystique or wonder to me anymore.
ReplyDeleteLIMB!!! I guess you wouldn't, huh? Oh, well... We can't all be in love with any and all types of pens...
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