Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Bird Man and Andy Rooney

When I grow older, I want to be like the Birdman....................

While watching 60 Minutes the other night, Troy and I saw the story of Forrest Bird, the Birdman of Idaho. As the tag line on the story says, "he's an extraordinary American inventor." As a young man, he stumbled into a life that had him inventing medical devices that have saved countless numbers of lives. He's rubbed elbows with Henry Ford, Orville Wright and even Howard Hughes. He's restored and flown, driven or ridden a myriad of vehicles. But for me, the thing that makes him a national treasure and someone to be admired is his pure zest for life. He's 88 now, but you wouldn't know it to hear him talk. His enthusiasm for flight and his life experiences simply bubbles up out of him.

I want to be like that. I want to live life to the fullest. I want to embrace it with gusto and not let a little thing like fear (of failure, of what people will think) keep me from doing anything that truly speaks to my soul. I can only imagine that the Birdman is a pleasure and a delight to be around. I think he can probably find the best in any person and any situation. That's how I WANT to be....

instead, I am Andy Rooney......

While Troy and I were at the 2009 Indianapolis MotoGP having a great time, I looked around and said, "Wow! We all carry a LOT of stuff!" It seemed like everyone was carrying backpacks or coolers or souvenirs. I wasn't scoffing at anyone. I was merely making an observation. So you can imagine my chagrine when Andy Rooney's 2 minute talk at the end of 60 Minutes on Sunday evening was about all the stuff that people carry! I'm not saying I don't like Andy Rooney, but I think you would have to agree with me when I say he's a BIT curmudgeonly. Like Forrest Bird, he's among the more senior of our population (currently he's 90), but UNLIKE Mr. Bird, he's probably not such a pleasure to be around most of the time. He may be observant, but he's probably not going to make your spirit soar or make you feel youthful and ready to grab life with both hands when you have a conversation with him.

So hopefully the next time I feel fearful of trying something, I'll remember the example of the Birdman and take a chance. But more importantly, the next time I feel snarky or uncharitable, I'll remember I don't want to be Andy Rooney.

4 comments:

Jill said...

The Andy Rooney bit made me laugh out loud. We do carry around a lot of stuff, don't we? Maybe that's what drives us to being curmudgeonly.

Anonymous said...

Cool site, I hadn't noticed growingplacesnow.blogspot.com earlier during my searches!
Keep up the superb work!

Anonymous said...

Great post, I am almost 100% in agreement with you

Anonymous said...

Hi - I am definitely happy to discover this. cool job!

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin