Twenty-six years ago, an event took place that changed my life. And I wasn’t even there. The rock group R.E.M. played together publicly for the first time on April 5, 1980. The event was hardly something that signaled a long career – they didn’t even have a name and had only practiced together for a month or so before playing at a beer-soaked party.
But that night changed my life, even if I was probably at home watching television or making a fool out of myself at a junior high dance.
I don’t make a habit out of making heroes out of celebrities. I have a low tolerance for those who see entertainers as anything other than just that.
I suspend that rule for R.E.M. In reality, I don’t think they have done anything extra special. But the fact that they have achieved great success while not doing anything special is what makes me feel the way I do.