“I’ve never fooled anyone. I’ve let people fool themselves. They didn’t bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn’t argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn’t.”
– Marilyn Monroe

I’ve never been a Marilyn Monroe fan.  It’s not that I disliked her, or even thought her talentless.  In fact, she was pretty good in Some Like it Hot.   I’ve just never been one of those people to be star-struck I guess.  I’ve been poet-struck, humanity-struck, philosophy-struck and even love-struck at times in my life, however I’ve never really “gotten” the star-struck phenomenon.

Although when I was wondering around Palm Springs alone last Friday afternoon before heading home I found myself confronted with a 26 feet tall Marilyn statue.  Essentially the artist turned her into an amazon – larger than life.  Originally I was simply captivated by the photo opportunity but after arriving back at my hotel to pack my things I began wondering what it was about her, besides her look, that held so many people, including the artist who sculpted the statue, in such awe.  I spent some time while home researching the buxom blonde a bit more and found that although she was a stunner to look at, she also seemed to have a brain as well, which I respect.

In fact, the quote above seems suited for many people – myself included.  I find that when people actually take the time to get to know me – not what perceive me to be – but really know me – I often hear, “I had no idea you were an artist, write poetry, like to… [insert word here]”  Sadly, some of those people have been part of my life for years.

This amazon woman, standing 26 feet tall in the bedazzled and bejeweled city of old Palm Springs perhaps should have a small plaque beside her gigantic foot that begs the question – Who do you really know?