9-3-10 Richard Crowson’s Commentary

Here’s to Passion (Listen)

Isn’t passion great? Not the romantic kind of “oh, baby, I love you, I love you” passion, but the everyday sort of passion that people feel for practically every kind of imaginable thing.
I was whining to my wife the other day about Facebook and how weird it is and how I can’t quiet put my finger on what it is about Facebook that turns me off so much, when a friend sent me one of those little Facebook exercises of the sort that I especially think are weird. It was called “15 Albums” and you were supposed to quickly make a list of albums that have made an impact on you. It drew me right in. I passionately pecked out my list then read my friends’ comments, their lists and I obsessed even more about the albums I had forgotten to list. I was in the throes of passion about record albums.

Later I got an email from a friend who is passionate about art. Attached to his email was an essay written by a person who was passionate about company logos. He loved the old Pan-Am logo and lamented with passionate language many of the newer logos that have been designed in a modern style which he deplored fiercely.

I have friends who are passionate about ukuleles, 1949 Fords, catfish noodling, flags, the 1950s, remote controlled model airplanes, Hank Williams, potted plants, poverty in developing nations, knitting, Starbucks, the St. Louis Cardinals, the history of Wichita, golf and the assassination of President Kennedy. This morning I got briefly passionate about UFOs and spent 30 minutes watching grainy Youtube videos.

I love humankind’s ability to become enthralled. I’d say it’s one of the things that separate us from the animals, but I’ve seen the passion my dog Ollie has for his walks. Dogs get it, too.

Here’s to passion. Celebrate it. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Passionately.

For KMUW I’m Richard Crowson.