I found myself left feeling very sad watching Clint Eastwood looking at an empty chair, trying to make a point but only coming off ultimately like a delusional old man. I have respected the hell out of Clint Eastwood for decades. I mean that sincerely. And for more than just being an actor. He epitomized to me what it meant to be a man. A standup man. On and off the screen. He's always carried himself in a confident, non-effected manner that I've truly admired.
This opening from an Esquire article from years ago sums it up pretty much: "Why is Clint Eastwood still the man? Because no other man's come along to unseat him. And even though he's eighty, we could use someone like him as the epitome of masculinity right now."
To me, Eastwood meant far more than John Wayne or any other "man's man" that has come along over the decades. Eastwood was a true artist who also so happened to be a true man, at least in my book. Watch some videos of him playing piano sometime. Look at the films that he has directed. Read about his run as mayor of Carmel, Calif., back in the 1980s. Eastwood has always been more than just a face and image and guy who could spit out some memorable lines. There was a brain with a definite artistic vision behind those steely eyes in his chiseled face.
I've seen "The Outlaw Josey Wales" more times than I can count. Literally. I still watch it with the same appreciation and awe. It takes me to a different time and place, and it leaves me wanting to jump on a horse and fight for a cause. That's Eastwood's doing.
Years ago, on a flight to Portland, I picked up that copy of Esquire before taking off because there was an article with Eastwood inside titled "What I've Learned." I think I read that article a dozen times in the following weeks. It was full of so much gold, and I felt better about myself, life, and the future after each time. It also made me laugh numerous times for nuggets like this, which I identify with: Kids piercing themselves, piercing their tongues -- what kind of masochism is that? Is it to show you can just take it?
Despite leaning the left on pretty much all issues, I'm pretty old school in the ways I approach life, particularly where respect and honor and integrity are concerned. I don't always live up to the billing I'd like to achieve, but I try. Moreover, I respect endlessly those who are known for those traits who have truly earned the reputation. I consider Eastwood definitely one of those people.
I hope Clint Eastwood isn't remembered ultimately as the bumbling old guy who spoke to an empty chair at a convention. I hope the jokes stop sooner than later. But I think what I've learned from Eastwood has to also apply to Eastwood: That as a man, you're responsible for your actions and how you carry yourself. Your words are your own, and after they come out, they are your's to possess and defend. No one pushed Clint Eastwood on stage and made him target President Obama and come off looking like a sorry bully who didn't have his full capacities in tact. He did that to himself. I'll choose, however, not to think and remember him in that way. I think of him as a guy who might have had good intentions where his beliefs are concerned but made a mistake. We all make them, even the most manly of men.
This opening from an Esquire article from years ago sums it up pretty much: "Why is Clint Eastwood still the man? Because no other man's come along to unseat him. And even though he's eighty, we could use someone like him as the epitome of masculinity right now."
To me, Eastwood meant far more than John Wayne or any other "man's man" that has come along over the decades. Eastwood was a true artist who also so happened to be a true man, at least in my book. Watch some videos of him playing piano sometime. Look at the films that he has directed. Read about his run as mayor of Carmel, Calif., back in the 1980s. Eastwood has always been more than just a face and image and guy who could spit out some memorable lines. There was a brain with a definite artistic vision behind those steely eyes in his chiseled face.
I've seen "The Outlaw Josey Wales" more times than I can count. Literally. I still watch it with the same appreciation and awe. It takes me to a different time and place, and it leaves me wanting to jump on a horse and fight for a cause. That's Eastwood's doing.
Years ago, on a flight to Portland, I picked up that copy of Esquire before taking off because there was an article with Eastwood inside titled "What I've Learned." I think I read that article a dozen times in the following weeks. It was full of so much gold, and I felt better about myself, life, and the future after each time. It also made me laugh numerous times for nuggets like this, which I identify with: Kids piercing themselves, piercing their tongues -- what kind of masochism is that? Is it to show you can just take it?
Despite leaning the left on pretty much all issues, I'm pretty old school in the ways I approach life, particularly where respect and honor and integrity are concerned. I don't always live up to the billing I'd like to achieve, but I try. Moreover, I respect endlessly those who are known for those traits who have truly earned the reputation. I consider Eastwood definitely one of those people.
I hope Clint Eastwood isn't remembered ultimately as the bumbling old guy who spoke to an empty chair at a convention. I hope the jokes stop sooner than later. But I think what I've learned from Eastwood has to also apply to Eastwood: That as a man, you're responsible for your actions and how you carry yourself. Your words are your own, and after they come out, they are your's to possess and defend. No one pushed Clint Eastwood on stage and made him target President Obama and come off looking like a sorry bully who didn't have his full capacities in tact. He did that to himself. I'll choose, however, not to think and remember him in that way. I think of him as a guy who might have had good intentions where his beliefs are concerned but made a mistake. We all make them, even the most manly of men.
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