My Hero

The most gruelling interview I have ever been through was for a gig as a candy store cashier in one of the worst malls on earth. I was not prepared for an in-depth list of questions, particularly from the 16 year-old kid who interviewed me, so I responded by being brutally honest. It's been 10 years, and I don't remember all of the questions, but I do recall telling the girl that the last book I read was Lolita and that Henry Rollins was my personal hero. A child molester and a punk rock god. Hmmm. I wonder why I didn't get the job?

A decade later, I stand behind my answers. Lolita still has my favourite opening chapter of any book I've ever read ("She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning..."), and Henry Rollins is still my hero. I was reminded of just how much I love him when I SAW HIM LIVE LAST NIGHT!! I have been waiting YEARS to see one of his spoken word shows, and I was not disappointed in The Long March. Amazing! The man talked for 2 and a half hours without so much as stopping to take a breath or a sip of water.

That's what I love about Henry - he doesn't seem to approach any endeavour with less than 100% of his energy. He attacks life head-on with everything he has. I love his drive and his tenacity and his courage and his thirst for knowledge. The man is a machine.

I was watching some Rollins YouTube videos while putting together this entry, and I stumbled on the perfect quote that sums up what I find so inspiring about Henry: 

What do I want to be remembered for? A guy who really tried to hit it right, you know, out of the park, or at least tried to swing as hard as he could, and maybe the miss was as cool as the few times I hit just cause the swing was so damn hard. Not necessarily graceful, but really hard.- Henry Rollins