Three people I'd love to meet

Betina writes:

Heroes can be fragile things. In this day of papparazzi, exposes, and tell-all books we often find those we would otherwise have admired, mired in scandal and demystified by unpleasant revelations. Still it's important to have people we admire, role models, leaders. . . yeah, even heroes.


I've been thinking a lot about this for some reason. Maybe because several of my former admirees have been struck by oncoming tabloids and their human foibles are now splattered all over the public discourse. Paul McCartney. Lance Armstrong. Watson and Crick. Albert Einstein. Leonardo DaVinci. Truly each of these people have done something interesting, admirable, or downright amazing. . . in spite of the fact that they're all simply human and personally flawed.

So, picking out heroes, larger than life figures to admire and emulate, has gotten trickier of late. So I've decided that admiring/revering the whole person and putting them on a pedestal was probably never a great idea. That doesn't mean I can't pick out a person's best quality/product/discovery/deed and admire that aspect of them. From now on, that's exactly what I'll do. Admire Lance Armstrong for his courage, tenacity, and astounding athleticism. Admire Paul McCartney for his uncanny ability to create music that touches, enlivens, and ennobles the rest of us. Admire Albert Einstein's ability to step outside the normal and expected way of looking at the world to discover something entirely new and radically unique. . . something that would change the entire world's view of nature.

If I could meet three living people, have a sit down and an unfettered, untimed chat. . . who would it be? Hmmmm. For every one I name, there will be at least three that pop up in my head as soon as I post this.

Michio Kaku, a physicist with a paradigm-breaking mind, author of "Hyperspace" and "Visions" and "Beyond Einstein." He has his hand on the pulse of science and technology the way Carl Sagan did on the pulse of Astronomy. His books are amazing in their clarity and accessibility. I'd love to hear what he sees coming in the near future.

Marcus Borg, a theologian and thinker and spokesman for "a new Christianity." A member of the Jesus Seminar, he has written simply and eloquently about faith matters in the modern world.

Maya Angelou, a poet, teacher, and wise, wise woman whose pithy, insightful words have given me something to guide my actions in life.

Ted Turner. . . the media mogul, rich as Croesus. . . but also an ardent conservationist who has bought hundreds of thousands-- maybe millions by now-- of acres of land all over the western US and returned it to its natural state. . . to hold for posterity. Fascinating, complicated man.

Okay that's four. I know. But I could go on. And yes, there are some writers and a few Hollywood folks I'd love to meet and chat with (Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sarandon, oh, and Matthew McConaughey), but I said three, right?

(Okay, I just had to put Matthew in. I confess to being under the influence of dimples.)

Unfortunately some of the people I would have named only a few years ago have died. And "people from history that I'd love to meet" is a whole different post.

What about you? Are there some living people you admire and you'd love to meet? How about sharing who and why?