It's my observation that up to a generation or two ago, men were valued socially by how well they could tell stories. Think about it: With fewer things to do to pass the time, people spent more time at bars and social clubs. Being able to hold court was important, a sport unto itself. For this, telling exaggerations and outright lies were OK. It made the story better.
And at the time, it's not like anyone had the technology to fact-check all this stuff, anyway. How could anyone outside Elias or the MLB offices look up batter-pitcher splits from years past? Just tell the tale, fudge the numbers, keep it moving. It's more about the essence of the story, not the specific facts.
Sam is single-handedly deflating the "journalism back in the day was real journalism! with integrity!" hot air balloon with all his hole poking stories.
I've heard many times in different ways about how tenuous our memories really are. And it makes me sad to think (or know!) that some of the stories I tell myself, especially those about the most meaningful events of my life, aren't technically true anymore. I once gave the Heimlich to a choking woman at a restaurant. Without getting into the details, the whole day was "story worthy" and now I wonder if the worthiness of the story has grown with the time that has elapsed.
More meaningfully, I was in NYC on 9/11 as a young man, only a year out of college, and I think about the specifics of that day often, and it is concerning to me to think that the story I tell myself about that day might not have been my actual experience.
It's my observation that up to a generation or two ago, men were valued socially by how well they could tell stories. Think about it: With fewer things to do to pass the time, people spent more time at bars and social clubs. Being able to hold court was important, a sport unto itself. For this, telling exaggerations and outright lies were OK. It made the story better.
And at the time, it's not like anyone had the technology to fact-check all this stuff, anyway. How could anyone outside Elias or the MLB offices look up batter-pitcher splits from years past? Just tell the tale, fudge the numbers, keep it moving. It's more about the essence of the story, not the specific facts.
Sam is single-handedly deflating the "journalism back in the day was real journalism! with integrity!" hot air balloon with all his hole poking stories.
I hope the "natural selection" theory is true.
I've heard many times in different ways about how tenuous our memories really are. And it makes me sad to think (or know!) that some of the stories I tell myself, especially those about the most meaningful events of my life, aren't technically true anymore. I once gave the Heimlich to a choking woman at a restaurant. Without getting into the details, the whole day was "story worthy" and now I wonder if the worthiness of the story has grown with the time that has elapsed.
More meaningfully, I was in NYC on 9/11 as a young man, only a year out of college, and I think about the specifics of that day often, and it is concerning to me to think that the story I tell myself about that day might not have been my actual experience.
Way behind on these. Great read.
Brilliant, Sam. Brilliant.