A special thank you is in order

I need to give recognition to the bloggers at Me + Richard for steering traffic to my little blog. So far, I believe that Richard Armitage fans embody a number of qualities that I admire in the man himself.

An Enigma

Richard...Richard...Richard...what can I say about Richard? Well, he's talented, sweet, bashful, silly, thoughtful, intelligent and principled. These are all words that I can associate with the Richard Armitage that everyone knows. But the one I actually admire the most, and perhaps points to all of the others is:

Enigma

The fact that there is so much about him that his fans don't know and what is more delicious than what's off limits to us? It makes us crave more of him. Now this is conjecture here, but I suspect that there isn't much guile behind his choice to remain private in that way. But I do suspect that there is sound logic behind it as the focus will more consistantly remain on his professional achievements as that is our biggest gateway to knowing him.

If we're completely honest with ourselves, plenty of professional people we encounter don't share their private lives with us. And in that, I'm subconciously more confident about their ability to do their job well as a result. I don't know how many women, or men for that matter, my banker has kissed. I don't know the names of my accountant's siblings. I do know that my Doctor has kids. But I don't know the status of her relationship with her husband. And I don't know how drunk my child's teacher got at Uncle Phil's wedding. And at the end of the day, whatever struggles they have in their personal lives, they are not forced to suffer them in the public eye.

People say Richard is a private person...very protective...as if this was a new concept. I say that there are many of us who are the kings and queens of overshare. I'm certainly guilty of this (Hey you're lucky enough to read my overshare.). Richard is fairly normal at face value. He's a real person, a guy who dared to take a chance in an industry that has been known to eat people alive. But I suspect that the only way he'll remain himself is by not allowing the general public all access to his every single thought or mood.

Of course I'm curious about what flavor ice cream he likes. I love that he is not afraid to wear bacon on his face. And I'm delighted and a little surprised he has good-naturedly put up with our constant facial hair discussion/debate. And while there are many of us who would love to simply give him a little pat on the back when he's feeling particularly blue, or give him a resounding 'huzzah' for something that made him happy, not everyone is kind. And leaving himself too exposed to the ugliness would likely take the Richard we do know away from us. And what a terrible loss that would be.

P.S. Beard or no beard? I don't acutally have a preference. He had me the moment Bilbo's door opened for Thorin.

 

 

 

How did this even happen?

 

I thought, quite honestly, that I was over this. I'm from the "Tiger Beat" generation of screaming fan-girls. I had my bedroom wall papered with River Phoenix. He was it for me. When he died, I was crushed. I didn't think I would ever get over it. I mean I did. He's as real to me as he ever was, because his impact on the world around him did not die with him. Though now that I'm 40, I don't look at his image the same way. It feels icky because at his oldest he was 27, and I'm into men roughly my own age, or older. I'm not into "love's young dream" as I once was. I am comfortable being my age, in fact.

I'm a grown woman in a very happy marriage (admittedly it took the second time to get that right). I have several children in a range of ages. I run a successful business. I'm educated. I have hobbies, friends, interests. I read book, lots of them in fact. And I love movies and music and may aspects of pop culture. I'm a fan of many actors, male and female. I love period movies/mini-series based on Jane Austen, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell and the like. And I love fantasy. I've read Tolkien multiple times as well as C.S. Lewis. But I don't consider myself above social media. I like the internet because there's loads of information out there. Yes you have to sort through a lot of crap sometimes but I like it.

I like that I don't have to cut down forests buying magazines for photos of my favorite celebrities. I like celebrities. I like to support those people who dared to do what they love and actually make it. I'm fascinated because they're human beings with jobs, careers but with extraordinary lives. I'm ordinary in so many ways, it is fun to ponder how they still also do ordinary things. And I appreciate that they are beautiful, and that they are talented.

Blah blah blah right? How did I become this gut-clenching Richard Armitage fan? Admittedly I came late to that party. As a fan of many famous people, I was a little embarrassed by fan fiction. I didn't understand fan art. Yes I actually purr when an attractive man is on stage or on the big screen. I'm not dead. But I didn't understand how grown women could be like I was at 16 for River Phoenix until...The Hobbit and my thought at the moment Thorin Oakenshield appeared in Bilbo's doorway was, "How on earth can a fantasy dwarf be so hot?" I loved the LOTR trilogy as portrayed by Peter Jackson. And I loved how beautiful the world and the characters were, but I didn't obsess over any particular one of them. But that thousand yard stare and that voice that could talk me into doing anything...unf

Google is a wonderful thing. I didn't even remember the name of the actor. But upon finding Richard Armitage, there were those eyes. I was surprised the first time I saw him clean shaven without the dwarf prosthetic pieces about his face. Wow. But Google some more. He did John Thornton in the BBC North and South? Why did I not know of this? I seriously have a Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth one) addiction where I re-watch it often and never get bored. But to have lightening strike a second time...how lucky could I get?

 

What is it about men with simmering anger behind their eyes that makes me crazy? I've always loved Colin Firth for it. But OH MY GOD there was this Richard Armitage guy that was staring down from above over a room full of cotton mill workers and nothing else existed until I was done watching the entire thing straight through. I knew nothing about the actor as of yet, but ever since, I cannot pick up the book and not see his face and hear his voice. And so it began...my descent into a place I'd not been since I was in High School though I didn't know it at the time...