A two-block walk from my downtown Denver loft is the local PBS affiliate. It’s a perfectly fine building, but in front is a sidewalk lined with several sorry-looking old handprints, footprints and autographs of personalities from the 1960s. Among the relics: Nick Adams, Roone Arledge, Bill Bixby, Peter Breck, Jackie “Uncle Fester” Coogan, Anthony Eisley, Linda Evans, Bill “Fred Mertz” Frawley, Brett Halsey, Ty Hardin, Jack Lord, Gardner McKay, E.J. Peaker, Roy Rogers and Trigger, Roger “77 Sunset Strip” Smith and Charlton Heston (Charlton Heston??!!)
This attempt at a ”walk of fame” appears to be the byproduct of someone’s good-idea-at-the-time that was summarily abandoned and left to the ages.
Walking among these worn-out slabs of concrete got me thinking about legacies.
A timely subject, legacies. An unpopular president is leaving office soon; one of the great movie stars in history recently left the world a legacy that exceeded his performances on celluloid; the mounting problems of our economy, our environment and our energy resources leave us all questioning what we are leaving future generations.
I’m not interested in exploring the names of the rich and famous appearing on walls or lists somewhere in perpetuity. It’s more compelling to consider people’s simple legacies (and your own) in the here and now. How you comport yourself with your family, in business and with your community. The psychic impression you leave behind. Take ego out of the equation – it’s less about making sure there’s tangible proof that you once passed through the world, and more about the effects of your actions.
It’s easy, really easy, to be cynical right now. In some weird way, walking by that forgotten “walk of fame” is a reminder to me that all individuals have some common ground; that life is fleeting; that we need to make sure our priorities are straight; and that we should be nice and play nice while we’re here. The right actions will follow, and your legacy will flow from there.
