Today while on my way home from volleyball practice, I changed lanes from the middle lane into the slow lane of I-205 only to find myself passing a black cop car and nearly rear-ending a car that had no lights. It was not an auspicious moment, but thankfully I managed to avoid getting a ticket, which was better than I deserved. Even if I am not a particularly reckless person, I must own up to having a taste for danger in a few areas of my life. The fact that I am generally cautious in most areas of life does not necessarily overwhelm the appetite for danger I have in some areas of life. This is no doubt true for everyone else. What is strong does not cancel out what is weak, and we are only as long as our weakest link. This gives all of our lives a sense of danger that we do not always recognize.
Today, after I got home from my own adventure, I found out that Paul Walker had died from a much more exciting but ultimately fatal adventure, having died as a passenger in a one-car accident driven by a friend of his in his new Porsche, in the mid-afternoon [1]. Who knows what was the proximate cause of the accident was, as it will probably be investigated. In a larger sense, though, Paul Walker, as a self-described adrenalin junkie, probably was putting himself in harm’s way when it came to vehicles for a long time. I mean, it is hard to be critical of someone, but rather we have to ponder how a love of the thrill of racing went tragically wrong when he was not even behind the wheel, leading to a too early death at 40. I mean, I’m 32 now and 40 does not seem like far away at all for me.
Considering that Paul Walker did not start his major film career until he was 25 films like Pleasantville and Varsity Blues [2], before finding wealth in the Fast & Furious Series, in fifteen years he did not necessarily have an A-list career, finding his niche in films about breaking rules, driving fast cars, and dealing with very shady characters, along with the occasional film about the ocean (given his intellectual interests in marine biology) or quirky places like pawn shops. Most of us either can identify with these concerns or vicariously wish to inhabit that world ourselves (witness the popularity of the Grand Theft Auto video game series). It is hard to say exactly how Paul Walker will be remembered, but it is likely that his films, both in his twenty-something teen-film stage as well as his more mature state, will remain at least somewhat popular. In the meantime, let us ponder a little bit about a solid career for what seems to be decent guy that ended all too soon, as often happens, it seems [3]. We see the years that could have been and miss the loss of what was expected for the future, and wonder whether that life would have lasted longer or been better without such a taste for danger, as we recognize in ourselves in our own ways.
[1] Some news stories follow:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/paul-walker-dies-crash-report-article-1.1533786
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/30/paul-walker-dead_n_4366214.html
[2] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/paul-walkers-career-pictures-660803#1-pleasantville-1998
[3] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/somebody-loves-you/
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/requium-for-a-rapper-nate-dogg/
Edge Induced Cohesion 