I'm not a role model - Charles Barkley

If it looks like a duck, and it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck - Ronald Reagan

Role models are funny things. Whether we want to admit it, or not, we all touch others lives. Our mere presence on this planet ensures that we affect those around us.

Sometimes for the better, sometimes to their detriment.

But perhaps the funniest thing about role models is, you don't get to chose who will pattern their lives after you.

When I was growing up it was in the era of heroes. Saturday morning TV was filled with people doing heroic things. It was the time of "Sky King", "Lassie", "My Friend Flikka", "The Lone Ranger", "Annie Oakley" and many more than I can name here.

The wrestlers of the period reflected the times as well. It was pure good v. evil. Faces and heels were readily identifiable. You just knew that when The Spoiler stepped in the ring he was going to do something dastardly, but the face was going to hand him his lunch and all would be right with the world.

You just knew that when Ray Stevens stepped in the ring, he was going to be a hard nosed wrestler, and he was going to use every underhanded tactic to win. There was no blurring of the lines then. It was pretty much black and white.

That didn't stop me from cheering for Stevens, or several other heels over the course of the years. Freddie Blassie was one of the biggest heels in the business, but he was one charismatic individual and had his share of fans.

It was also a time for sports heroes in other sports. Every boy wanted to be Mickey Mantle, or Johnny Unitas. Yeah, it turns out that they had problems of their own, but the press did their best to keep it out of the papers, and let the kids dream of one day growing up to be like the Mick.

Like many others, I chose to pattern my life after somebody a little closer to home. My father was the biggest influence on my life, however that didn't stop me from idolizing others as well. I remember that I wanted to have spinach for dinner because Popeye ate it and I was going to be instantly strong.

Needless to say it didn't quite work out that way.

The biggest thing was, none of them ever stepped forward and said "Hey, I'm nobody's role model!". They were all famous for one reason or another. With that fame came a tremendous responsibility that they silently acknowledged. Standing in the spotlight it's rather hard not to cast a shadow. It's rather hard to be famous and inconspicuous at the same time. It just doesn't work. You can't have it both ways.

I ran across an interesting tidbit in "The Fly's Buzz" over on "The Sporting News". It reads as follows

"South Carolina salutes minor-league b'ball this week, trottin' o-fish-all
parchment sayin', in part 'minor league baseball players throughout the 
Palmetto State serve as role models for our young people by encouraging
excellence in athletics and community service.' Nice, ain't it, to hear
'community service' used in somethin' other'n a verdict..."

It's easy to say that there's nothing you can do about the drug problem, but it's also fallacy. It's a hard thing to do, but you have the opportunity to do something right. Tell your folks that drugs and wrestling just don't mix.

Hey, you wouldn't be the only workplace around with a drug policy. And it would go a long way to cleaning up the name of professional wrestling.

The gauntlet has been tossed down. Are you ready to pick it up?