Life In The DPC!

I have come to a simple conclusion these days that Lindsay Lohan is despised by all woman and is only loved by men. This simple notion has been made abundantly clear whenever  I mention that I think she is attractive and my coworkers and or female friends maintain that she is a skank, trick, whore, floozy, annoying and/or stupid. Harsh criticisms abound whenever the twenty-year old diva is mentioned to the fairer sex.“In Lindsay’s case, she’s a chain-smoking, club-hopping tramp,” The Sports Gal, ESPN’S Bill Simmons spouse, said. ”Who spends her spare time getting tanning sessions, shopping and forgetting to eat. She’s going to look like a leather purse in 25 years no matter how much Proactiv she takes.”

To this casual observer it would seem that any negative energy thrown towards Lohan is derived through some form of jealousy or the simple fact that she is relevant in the world of entertainment news. There is always a natural tendency to be fed up with the latest media darling and it seems that Lohna is no different. And yet a part of me is confused on why there needs to be a backlash against a twenty-year old who parties a lot and has a propensity towards dressing scantily. As a former booze hound and self proclaimed modern Dionysus I have always known that there is a tendency towards living with reckless abandon at a young age. Compliment inherent decadent behavior with both fame and loot and you have a combination suitable for the tabloids.

“She’s in the magazines, so you always know what she’s doing because you can just read about it in the tabloids,” Jane Fonda recently said. “She parties all the time … And you know, she’s young and she can get away with it. But, you know, it’s hard after a while to party very hard and work very hard.”

Fonda’s notions that Lohan’s night life is a detriment is inherent revisionist history. As the years drift by one seems to forget what they once were. I can assume they were instances in Fonda’s pasy, Hanoi Jane aside, that are likely similar to Lohan. Unfortunately we have a culture predicated on developing idols and then bringing them down after we have discovered another passing fancy.

As strange as it may sound I like, mainly this is physical, but she is no different than anyother adolescent who screws around stays up late. I honestly believe that her behavior is no different than most younger folks and yet she is cast as a vixen from the world that created her.

“There’s this misconception that if you’re out one night,” Lohan said. ”Then you’re said to be out every night. You have to be careful, but I think the main thing is to make sure the people around you are looking out for your best interests. You have to let it roll off your back. I’ve learned to just ignore it. “But I think you can also take advantage of the fact that you’re in the limelight and put things out into the world that are good messages.I’m not some Tara Reid-style party girl.”

I am starting to understand how Evel Knievel became an American legend. His is a career of crashing and burning after he failed to deliver on his boasts. From my persepctive America has always embraced winners, the Chicago Cubs aside, and Evel always seemed to fall short of our expectations. But maybe in the turbulent decade of the 1970’s his grandiose proclamations and his never say die attitude towards all challenges was a brief recess from a nation’s failures in democracy and national economy.“You know my appeal,” Knievel said recently. “Risking my life. There are two professions on the face of this earth that will always survive. One’s being a whore…and one is spilling your blood. I’m one of those.”

After reading that quote I was unsure if Evel was referring to himself as a whore or blood spiller. In many ways he is both. He is the one that maintained blatant disregard for his own body and/or spirit all in the name of cash. As a former Reno resident I am for prostitution if it is healthy and this may also may explain why I find the life of Evel fascinating.

Evel became America’s greatest dare devil after a failed careers in insurance sales, motor cycle sales, diamond drill operator, minor league hockey player. Saddled with a growing family, and a lack of cash due to his various failures in the aforementioned adventures, Evel promoted his first show. He promoted a night of thrills as he scheduled himself to jump a twenty foot box of rattle snakes and a pair of moluntain lions. He suceeded and he began a career of self promotion and jumping objects on his motorcycle. For the next few years Knievel moved to bigger and better promotions and along the way developed his signature style of long, risky jumps and recoverying after breaking various bones when his jumps failed.

”In the old days they, the promoters,” Evel said. ”Wanted more and more from me. They wanted me to jump or spill my blood and break my bones. Every time they wanted me to jump further, and further, and further. Hell, they thought my bike had wings.”

Still considered a small time player in the world of entertainment Knievel came across the fountains at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Mesmerized by the possibilities he pitched ABC Wide World of Sports the offer to film him jumping the fountains. They declined but offered to view any film of the stunt and possibly airing the footage if they enjoyed it. Evel agreed and paid out of pocket to have the show filmed. It was a disaster. Evel crashed over the handlebars and stayed in a coma for 29 days. The results on film lived up to his boasts to ABC and they aired his crash. Famed rolled in for Evel as he was unconscious and when he awoke the marekting of Evel began.

By 1971 an estimated $350 million Evel empire of toys was rolling in as he prepared to promote his most famous stunt: The Snake River Canyon. Knievel maintained that he could he jump the Grand Canyon on a rocket powered motor cycle. The federal government refused to let Evel use their property for his promotion so he switched gears and headed north to the Snake River Canyon which is located on private property. The initial test runs by the experimental cycle failed but undaunted Evel ambled up to the stage on September 8, 1974.

The stunt was doomed from the start. As the cycle made its way up the ramp a parachute deployed and created enough drag that Evel never got enough speed to clear the canyon. He made it about two-thirds across the canyon and crashed without injury. Despite the failure the nation’s imagination was captured and Evel’s star continued to rise.

In October of 1976 Evel made his last jump. His stunt involved 14 Greyhound buses. He jumped them succesfully in front of the largest viewing audience ever on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Th retirement was short lived and he made one more jump in 1977. He crashed and broke both of his arms and a camerman lost an eye.

Since the peak of his fame Evel has fallen on hard times. He has declared bankruptcy and has been satirized as a maverick of a by gone era. Evel is still alive and kicking though his health is an issue in recent days.

The popularity of Evel seems to stem from his ability to create his own challenges and then we watch him as he tries to topple them. His greatest foe is his own challenges and the subsequent action. He is a legend by virtue of the simple fact that he is not indestructable but he always seems to come back to fight another day. This might be where the legend of Evel stems from; he was often defeated by the challenges that were put in front of him and yet he always came back again. There is also the macabre associated with the viewing public. We will watch the gore and relish in the misery of others and Evel always delievered the broken bones.

“There are a lot of myths about my injuries,” Evel said. ”They say I have broken every bone in my body. Not true. But I have broken 35 bones. I had surgery 14 times to pin and plate. I shattered my pelvis. I forget all of the things that have broke.”

Tim Richmond was a dominant NASCAR driver whose career was tragically cut short by AIDS in 1989 and his death remains a black mark in the history of stock car racing.Richmond’s meteroic rise to fame, and all of the luxuries that are afforded to a champion, came together and ruined a promising racing career and showed that NASCAR is truley an Old Boys Network.

“When you watched Tim Richmond drive a race car, you could understand how Hank Aaron hit all those home runs,” said former teammate Benny Parsons, now a TV commentator. “Certain people have a certain knack for things. He had a knack for getting the race car around the track.”

Richmond came to racing prominence in an unconventional manner for American stock car racing. Raised in the oppulence of a wealthy family in Ohio Richmond was a late starter in the world of racing and came into the game at the age of 21. Starting off in open wheel racing he showed promise and garnered a ninth place run at the Indianapolic 500 in 1980. He switched to NASCAR and by 1982 he charged into victory lane twice in twenty six races.

 With each subsequent season Richmond charged up the Winston Cup standing and culminated with a third place finish in the 1986 season. Unfortunately the pratfalls of fame that had destroyed many others that are thrust in the spotlight began to catch up with Richmond. Rumors of drug abuse and excessive late nights dogged the promising new star on the circuit.

“How much of it was him and how much was a supplement?” seven-time Winston Cup champion Richard Petty said. “I’ll always have that question in my mind.”

By virtue of being brought up in a separate culture than his NASCAR brethren Richmond brought in a rock star image. He was the handsome, well educated playboy driver on the circuit. In many aspect Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fulfilled the same void but by virtue of his name he has been accepted by the masses. While Richmond’s rise to glory was always viewed as an outsider intruding on a gruff Southern collective that doesn’t like those that haven’t paid their dues or were part of the monarchy.

“That was the biggest question mark about Tim Richmond,” Parsons said. “How in the world could he be so good? He was no normal, typical stock-car driver. He was a playboy. He belonged in Hollywood, in the movies.”

One could assume that 1986 was the start of Richmond’s rise to fame and NASCAR success and that the subsequent season would be even better. Unfortunately 1987 was the beginning of the end for Richmond and his time in racing. Towards the end of the 1986 season he had become quite ill and checked himself into the Cleveland Clinic. After a series of tests it was discovered that NASCAR’s newest star was infected with AIDS.

One must bare in mind that in the mid 1980’s AIDS was fairly unknown. It was generally maintained that this plague was limited to homosexuals and heavy drug user. At this point there is very little known about the disease and the social stigma transcends any scarlett letter that the media can spawn. During the 1986 off season did his best to regain strength for the 1987 campaign and to also hide his illness from the world.

Claiming that he was infected with a severe case of pneumonia Richmond raced only eight times in 1987 but won consecutive races. By the end of the season, with his health fading, he was sent to the garage by NASCAR.

In 1988 he tried one more come back but NASCAR intervened and laid down the law. At this point the general population was still unaware of Richmond’s illness. They bought in to his excuses but NASCAR knew the reality of the matter and refused to let Richmond rejoin the circuit. They subjected Richmond to a drug test, he was the only driver chosen, and maintained that he tested positive for banned substances. Richmond was banned indefinitely. Enraged, Richmond demanded another test and passed and ultimately NASCAR maintained that the only substances in his system were Sudafed and Advil. His ban was rescinded but they demanded full disclosure of his medical records if he wanted to race again. Rumors spread and many of his peers were now aware of his illness. Ruined and desperate to regain his credibility Richmond sued for defamation of character and NASCAR countered by requesting all of his tax records, medical records and drug screening results. Dejected and finally beaten Richmond dropped his case, fearful that any disclosures would become public record.

Richmond ultimately retired to seclusion with his mother in West Palm Beach, Florida and succumbed to AIDS on August 13, 1989.

Ultimately Richmond’s story became public and NASCAR fans were dismayed by the treatment of one their favorites. His career, though short, touched a lot of fans. He was the hard living, rock star of the circuit for a brief period and sixteen years later the sport  sanctioning bodybarely recognizes of one their own. Despite his short career he was voted one of the fifty greatest drivers of all time but his biography on NASCAR.com that shares this proclamation is quite short (http://www.nascar.com/2002/kyn/history/drivers/02/02/trichmond/).

The manner that they treated one of their stars NASCAR has shown that many of the stereotypes (conservative, back water and intollerant)are true. Richmond died of AIDS when the country was just starting to understand this horrible plague. They handled the manner in the cruelest way possible. If they had embraced their own, as the NBA did with Magic Johnson, maybe America’s fastest growing sport could alleviate many of the perceptions that outsiders to the sport maintain but even seveteen years since his demise Richmond is viewed by the old boys network as the vermin that didn’t die fast enough.

“It was a bad time,” Petty said. “Let’s just forget the whole thing, no matter how good he was.”