ust when you think
you know a person....
I was kind of thrilled about a deal in the baseball world this spring.
The Pirates, my favorite team, sent an outfielder named Al Martin to the
Padres, now my second-favorite team, for outfielder/first-baseman/pinch-hitter
John Vander Wal. It seemed like a good deal to me, because Martin
has always been one of my favorite Pirates, although not necessarily one
of the best players. He was always very involved in the community
and with the fans. He was the one who suggested the players take
the game before one of their home games to greet the fans at the stadium,
and thank them for coming. He just really seemed like a nice guy.
A couple of days ago, there was a news story. Al Martin had been
arrested for getting into a fight with a woman who claimed to be his wife.
The big problem is, he's already married to someone else.
So in a few days, he's gone from a pillar of the community to a bigamist
and wife-beater.
After thinking it through, the only thing I don't understand about the
whole deal is why I'm so surprised. Somehow I had assumed that, since
I've seen the guy running around on a field and showing up on TV occasionally,
he was a fine, upstanding citizen. It's strange how we can do that
-- put people up on pedestals even though they certainly don't deserve
it. I could get into the whole John Rocker thing -- but I won't.
I wonder what I would be like if I became famous. Suppose I became,
as in my dreams, a famous rock star (although there are a certain lack
of open positions available for rock stars with passable vocal ability,
so-so keyboard playing, and experience on trumpet and trombone).
I wonder if I'd suddenly go insane, chasing after women even though I'm
married, trampling on people for sport. I don't think it's so much
the fame affecting a person as it is that the person must be messed up
in the first place to be willing to exhibit their entire life in front
of countless others.
(Now I'm starting to wonder what that makes me....)
