With the deaths of Aretha Franklin, Neil Simon, and John McCain all in the past 2 weeks, I was led to consider some of the people I've loved and learned from, been inspired by, who made me who I became.
Since this is a "cultural" blog, I should maybe bypass the political spectrum.
But let me begin with----
John McCain
Watching the network's coverage of his death (and life!), I noticed something that led me to list him as one of my "originals".
How many Senators (or those outside the Executive area of US Government) ever received the kind--and amount--of tributes McCain is getting?
I can understand Presidents having such in-depth and lengthy coverage, but a Senator?
Except for the Kennedy's (thinking mostly of Teddy), there have been few.
He was so larger-than-life, so honest in his thoughts and emotions, so---different.
Few have moved me to tears.
McCain did.
Neil Simon was another original.
His comedic plays were numerous, and major hits, many becoming movies or TV shows!
My own favorite was "Chapter Two".
I always look for strong dialogue in the books I read.
(And of course, plays and movie scripts are nothing BUT dialogue--with some technical directions.)
Simon's was quick--like those 1930's movies that were pretty much non-stop chatter!
They were intelligent, funny, told a story.
But mostly I liked his dialogue because it sounded natural and normal, not scripted or forced.
You CAN tell the difference!
Two other writers I loved were Henry Miller and Kurt Vonnegut.
Miller's "Tropic of Cancer" was the first of his books I read.
It inspired me to write my own "Tropic".
A VERY poor imitation!!
But he made graphic sexual description and talk acceptable--even if he had to go to court to do so!
His "Sexus" is a 640 page (in paperback) orgy!!
But it's also one of the most enduring love stories in novels.
Interesting too that the 2 other books of "The Rosy Crucifixion" trilogy--"Plexus" & "Nexus" were so different, almost totally bereft of sex and cuss words, but rather deep & penetrating works of philosophy!
Miller himself was a huge figure in life--and I'm not speaking of body size!
Vonnegut--at least for me--was totally original.
His use of phrases such as "Hi ho" & "So it goes" made his works stand alone.
They SEEMED so simplistic--as if written for a 5th grader--yet were as complex and profound as any I've read!
I began with "Slaughterhouse Five", but went back and wound up reading everything he wrote--from "Player Piano" forward.
(He's another I tried to copy--and failed!)
That's why he's an original!!
Vincent Van Gogh
I didn't really get into art until my early 30's--when I got into a relationship with an artist!
(I modeled for a class she taught, we started dating, and became lovers.)
She told me of a trip to Europe, where she saw some Van Gogh paintings.
She said she stood there mesmerized--and cried for several minutes!
So I read a bio of him, then another, and more after that!
I looked closely at prints in books.
The paint seemed globbed onto the canvas, rather than brushed.
But it was his LIFE that moved me early on.
His loneliness, his passion, his needs, the depth of love that came out so beautifully in his art.
It wasn't until 1991 that I saw a VG painting in person.
And not until 2004 that I saw a full show (22 paintings & drawings--in Seattle).
As with my former girlfriend, I also stood mesmerized before his art.
I was amazed at the seeming simplicity of his paintings, yet up close seeing what made him a true original!
The Beatles and Bob Dylan
I became fans of both within months in early 1964.
Being 74 now, I was 12 when Elvis Presley blasted over the radio (WOR in New York City), and led me to a lifetime of rock and roll involvement!
In the 7 years between Elvis's "Hound Dog" and the Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" fell a wide spectrum of incredible R&R--names such as the Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and on and on and on!
But despite constant hits, the list of great tunes was thinning as the decade's changed from the 50's to the 60's.
Until the Beatles (though the BeachBoys came earlier, with some solid stuff) exploded into eternal fame on the Ed Sullivan show!
Their music was louder, their voices "foreign-sounding", and their hair longer!
We know what followed.
Lots has changed, but if you want original rock, you can't do any better than the Beatles!
As for Dylan, I first was taken by his voice.
So many critics disparaged it--some even saying it was the "worst"!
Then I heard his lyrics.
From the beginning, they seemed like poems.
Even those that rhymed!
His were the first lyrics I had to read several times before I could "see" his meanings!
Never a reader of the classic poets (Not even Robert Frost or Emily Dickinson!!), I became aware of the rhythms, the metering, the "breathing" needed to understand what he was saying.
Reading his words led me to a lifetime love of the "Beat" poets--Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Ann Waldman, and so many others!
But most of all, Dylan inspired ME to try my hand at poetry and lyrics (NOT song!) writing!
Thousands of works later, I still revere Dylan as a true original!
There have been several others I'd call "original".
Alan Watts (for his interpretations of Eastern philosophy and religion)
Sally Ride & Christa McAuliffe (Ride for being the 1st US woman into space--McAuliffe for being an "everyday" person sent into space--but who died so tragically)
Martin Luther King, Willie Mays, and Barack Obama (MLK for the changes he inspired--Mays as the first great baseball player I saw--in the Polo Grounds in 1954--and President Obama--who is maybe a better & more interesting person now than he was as President)
Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Monet (other Impressionist & Post-Impressionist artists I love)
Jack Nicholson & Clint Eastwood (two actors whose "methods" are familiar, and whose lifelong works are spread all over my "Best Movies" lists--and who work humor into their humanity)
Wilt Chamberlain, Usain Bolt, and Joe Montana (these athletes made me see athletes as not just great performers, but to see athletes as entertainers also)
Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman, Erica Jong (three poets whose "collected works" I've read more than once--If you're thinking Jong is a novelist, you'd be right--but she's also a great "confessional" poet)
I could probably add to the above, but this has to stop somewhere.
If you haven't already, check these guys & gals out.
And if you want, tell me who YOUR "originals" are!
