When you are a child the whole world seems larger than life. The shops you go to are huge, the cars you drive in are enormous and the schools playgrounds seem to go on forever. Coming back to visit these places as an adult they appear to have shrunken … the spaces are smaller, claustrophobic even.
Public figures are different — well, those who capture and hold our imaginations are. Evel Knievel was, for me, one person who retained a larger than life imaginary space as I grew up. Perhaps it was to do with his ground breaking efforts and stunts, or the link he somehow made in my mind with Fonzie’s motorcycle stunt in Big Al’s carpark, or even the Evel Knievel stunt bike toy that I loved until it fell to pieces. But it is more likely that, in Evel Knievel, we all saw the potential to become an everyday hero … a real person capable of achieving close to the miraculous. May he rest in peace.
I’m with ya Gav. I remember watching him at Wantirna Drive In when I was a kid and he was a legend.
The Caesars Palace video is brilliant – Linda Evans shot it apparently.
Awww, this is sad to hear. Yes, I remember the Fonzie jump also, and Evel Knievel when I was growing up. Yeah, we love to watch someone who is not afraid of anything, and who has confidence that he can do the impossible.