From Strange Places
Sometimes, my inspiration for living comes from strange places.
This morning, I got, as usual, a note from the Writer’s Almanac. For those of you who are blissfully unaware of the dark underbelly of the writer’s life, there are a huge number of sites, books, and shows dedicated to the craft of writing. The Writer’s Almanac is a brief, daily segment on National Public Radio that provides regular notes about famous authors and work, not to mention a poem, as, I believe, inspiration to those who wrestle with words and ideas as a higher calling. It also happens to be a website that offers a regular e-mail newsletter, thankfully, that I have gotten for some time now, since I never seem to catch the radio show anymore.
According to that newsletter this morning, today is Frank Capra’s birthday. For those of you not familiar with that name, he directed It’s a Wonderful Life, and several other everyman hero sort of movies that have been quite correctly dubbed classics. Well, not only have I been a fan of the “regular Joe beats the big villain” movie, but I’ve also been a closet Capra fan for years. Mainly, I think, because I identify with his slightly downtrodden characters who make “good”. So, I guess, it shouldn’t be a big surprise when the following Capra quote inspired me:
“I wanted to glorify the average man, not the guy at the top, not the politician, not the banker, just the ordinary guy whose strength I admire, whose survivability I admire.”
Anyway, I thought I’d share that with you all because, well, I admire that, too. And, I hope, I’m more and more that guy as time goes on.
