Mad for Maddow

When I was but a tot I had three heroes: Superman (the comic book version); Tarzan, (as personified by Johnny Weissmuller); and Roy Rogers (not the man himself, but the Roy Rogers portrayed by Roy Rogers in the movies…there is a difference, ya know). My early teens brought Bob Mathias into focus since he was from my home town and won two gold medals in the decathlon in two successive Olympics (my awe turned to shock when he went into politics later in life and became a conservative Republican congressman). Then one has to jump a decade or two when John F. Kennedy captured my attention but, of course, that lasted only 1,000 days and my heart remains broken to this day. From then (although not articulated) I figured hero-worshipping was a path safely left untrodden and have shied away from admitting to anything beyond “admiration” for any one individual, living, dead or fictional.

A mere slip of a girl, Rachel Maddow, has now captured my attention and my heart. She is articulate and educated (including a Rhodes Scholar PHD in Political Science from Oxford) and a very brave “out” lesbian who tells it like she sees it. She’s the heart-and-conscience of MSNBC News and she consistently brings home the bacon, closely aligned of course, within my own political frying pan. On top of her political acumen and wizardry in analyzing it, she seems totally human and sometimes she can get enthusiastically shrill and also sometimes painfully corny (a comedian she is not) but the woman, I’m proud to say, has made my short list. I hope she hangs up there on my pedestal as long as possible and keeps her avowal to never, ever, run for elected office.

So that’s it: Superman, Tarzan, Roy Rogers, Bob Mathias, John F. Kennedy, Rachel Maddow. Hmm…so that means, I guess, that two of my heroes are still living; being, of course, Rachel and Superman. I wonder if she would be embarrassed to know this. Being on my list, I mean, not that Superman is still living.