People Are Strange

“People Are Strange” is the title of a 1967 song made famous by Jim Morrison and the Doors. I suppose to most of us some people are strange. I think we’ve all met people we liked immediately and some who were the opposite. Today’s question would be what makes people strange — to you?

American Idol

I’m probably one of the few people in America who have never actually watched American Idol. While I have not seen the actual show I have seen clips here and there showing the judges making fun of contestants that have no talent by anyone’s measure. These are absolutely strange people.

Then I wondered how Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson would react if they heard Bob Dylan doing “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” for the very first time. Do you think Bob would have ever made it to the big stage? Let’s face it — Bob was, and is, strange.

Tiny Tim

Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki are little more than footnotes in music history but at one time their fifteen minutes of fame shined brightly. Tiny Tim’s theme song was “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” that he sang in a high pitched falsetto voice, accompanying himself on the ukulele. He married the love of his life, Miss Vicki on “The Tonight Show Staring Johnny Carson” on December 17, 1969 as 21.4 million watched.  The union lasted 8 years. He died in 1996 at the age of 64. Strange but lovable.

Strange People Laughing All The Way to The Bank

Do I dare say it? Michael Jackson. Look up strange in the dictionary and you’ll likely find his picture. Talented? Absolutely. Strange? Absolutely. From the Neverland Ranch, to his marriage to Elvis Presley’s daughter, to dangling the baby off the balcony, friendship with Liz Taylor, the list is endless.

Child molestation charges, bleaching his skin, his personal physician implicated in his death, umbrella toting bodyguards, and a plastic surgery obsession to look like Diana Ross definitely made Michael probably the top strange person of the 21^st Century. I know we’ve got a long time to go to the year 2100 but, I think a case can be made that it would take a gargantuan effort to be stranger than Jackson.

Some Final Thoughts        

It’s not hard to make the case that all of us are a little strange. On someone’s “strange scale,” you are strange for the way you dress, music you enjoy, food you eat, the way you act and the things you say. But, is that a bad thing? Don’t we all get those looks and whispers now and then?

God made mirrors so we could look at ourselves. There’s a big difference between seeing how you are and trying to look like others want you to look. Isn’t that a little strange? Tomorrow when you look in that mirror take a second and appreciate how strange you really are. I think you’ll feel a lot better.