{in which we ponder if one would rather be loved or fêted or just left alone}


“What I remember about 1985 is how I felt bewildered by the success of the show. That fall LAKE WOBEGON DAYS was on the NY Times best-seller list and I did a book tour and was overwhelmed by the long lines of people, the high ratings of the show, the press attention — things that a person fantasizes about, especially a geeky person like me who never was really good at anything, and that makes it even weirder when it happens and it turns out to be not all that much fun. The thirsty dehydrated man falls into the lake and almost drowns. People treat you differently and it’s hard to adjust to that. You’re tempted to believe in your own abilities more than you should. Old friends retreat and you’re thrown in among strangers. Hollywood knocks at your door. One Friday afternoon, Don and Phil Everly, heroes of my teen years, came to St. Paul and stood in my office at Minnesota Public Radio and we rehearsed a song for the next day’s show in which I sang a baritone harmony part, and it struck me that life had changed. Also that I didn’t know my part well enough. It was a crazy time. I look back and wish I had simply locked the doors and pulled the shades and concentrated on doing my work. It’s work that makes you happy, I think. A good day of writing is absolutely glorious — being on the cover of Time, not so much, though it did impress my parents.”

~ Garrison Keillor, “It’s Work That Makes You Happy,” July 21, 2014

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