Like Steve McQueen
All I Need’s a Fast Machine
Since retiring from my decades-long career in PR and marketing nearly three years ago, I’ve worked part time as a writing tutor at our local college. Students come to me for help with everything from brainstorming themes to editing final drafts. The school provides this service for them free of charge, along with tutoring in math and science (for which I’m not qualified).
Most of my coworkers clock in at 18–27 years of age. A few colleagues look and act more like contemporaries, and we enjoy our conversations about books, films, music, and food. (Almost never politics, because we like to maintain a congenial atmosphere. Plus, we’re smart.)
But I learn the most from my new young friends, both tutors and students. And I hope they pick up a bit of knowledge from me.
Not long ago, I found myself assisting a sophomore with his paper about the fleeting nature of fame. His main problem, as you can imagine, involved finding suitable examples. After a couple of failed attempts, I mentioned what had to be a gimme.
“How about Steve McQueen?” I asked.
He stared at me in silence before whispering, “Who?”
“One of the most popular actors when I was a kid.”
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Damn, I heard myself thinking. He made his last film in 1980. Not that long ago.
“Sorry, don’t know him,” the kid said.
Unwilling to give up just yet, I said, “You know, from the Sheryl Crow song in the early 2000s.”
He fixed me with that same stare. “Who?”
I felt the session start to slip away. Time for a Hail Mary.
“McQueen was a cool guy. Kind of the Brad Pitt of his day.”
“Who?” he asked for the third and final time.
Geeze, I Googled Pitt. He’s only 62. And he’s still making blockbusters like Bullet Train and F1.
Ultimately, we both hung in and settled on historical figures. Two weeks later, he came back to tell me he’d gotten a 91. See, he’s a bright kid. But time (among other things), as predicted by Alvin Toffler in the classic book Future Shock, is speeding up. Which means we’re forgetting things faster.
Or he was yanking my chain.
