There is no retreating into a so-called normal life for certain celebrities — but there should be.
While some celebrities return to earth — especially if they were ordinary citizens before a brief moment in the spotlight — others are on another level of visibility for all or most of their lives.
Some of the presidential candidates I’ve covered have traveled with almost no security. Others, such as Hillary Clinton, travel with heavy security. Certain leaders, such as Clinton, will have U.S. Secret Service protection or similar for the rest of their lives — which puts some distance between themselves and most citizens, on many levels.
When Clinton made an appearance at DMACC’s Newton Campus and Uncle Nancy’s Coffee House and Eatery earlier this month, she brought with her the tightest web of human security forces available to a person in the U.S., with the exception of possibly a sitting president.
Clinton will never know a “normal” life, which seems to keep someone from really understanding how most of us live.
It made me wonder if that makes it nearly impossible for someone in Clinton’s position to relate to regular folks, or if those levels of insulation are needed in order to give someone the confidence to complete their role as a “famous person.”
Not everyone whose name is well-known gets around the country the way a former First Lady travels. Rick Santorum is known to many Americans, especially in Iowa and his home state of Pennsylvania
However, when Santorum arrived at DMACC for an Aug. 31 economic round-table discussion (which turned out to be mostly brief complaints or questions from area entrepreneurs and Santorum then bragging about what he did in Congress), he was dropped off at the curb by the driver of an unassuming white SUV. He walked up to the east entrance by himself, and I was the only one outdoors to greet him.
The former U.S. Senator shook my hand, and asked me where the Newton Development meeting room was located. Dressed casually, Santorum could blend in visually, and probably connects with people better than most people that have many layers of security and regulations inhibiting their interactions.
While Santorum can laugh and joke and make regular conversation, and probably spends enough time traveling in rural areas to actually have extended conversations that are not about him or his campaign, he still has the money and notoriety to live basically how he likes.
Santorum is on a sort of an in-between level of fame, where he can probably say his own name and get certain things to happen or not happen, but can still go into a grocery store in many states without being instantly recognized.
Then there are those who can probably turn fame on or off as needed, at least at this stage of their lives. Jessica McClure Morales, for example, is best known to most of us as “Baby Jessica,” who fell into a well in her aunt’s backyard in Midland, Texas in 1987, prompting a 58-hour national media watch in the 58 hours it took to rescue her.
Now 29, Morales is fairly set thanks to a trust fund, although most of us haven’t seen her as an adult. She can probably go most places without being noticed. She lives only a few miles from the house where the well incident occurred, so anyone in Midland who has wanted to meet her wouldn’t have to look very far.
Mike Huckabee seemed much different in person than he did when the cameras are rolling. Is a “famous persona” needed in order to remain famous? It seems that way.
Contact Jason W. Brooks at
641-792-3121 ext. 6532
or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com