Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Where Did The Daredevils Go?

I was noodling around on Wikipedia the other day and I happened across the entry for Evel Knievel. I miss that guy.
   When I was a kid, every few months or so he would get on his Harley and try to jump that beast across something: buses, Caesars Palace, the Snake River (technically he rode a rocket, I know). And always he'd wreck. Always. The guy broke almost every bone in his body - multiple times - and he just healed up, stood up, and signed up for more. I used to have his toy motorcycle and bendy figure, which I would run smack into the brick walls of our house over and over and over again emulating what I'd seen him do.
   These days daredevils call themselves 'stunt performers.' Name one, and Robby Knievel doesn't count. Neither do David Blaine or Criss Angel, they just do tricks. Or tell lies, if you don't feel like mincing words. Still can't name one? That's because there aren't any. Not like Evel, none of them willling to take it on the chin for the sake of a stunt.
    A few weeks ago I said this country needed the Stooges again. I'd like to amend that and say we also need tough-guy daredevils again, somebody to metaphorically take one square in the nuts for the rest of us.
    Well? I'm waiting.

No comments:

Post a Comment