“Listen Dickey I know you think this grand event has just taken place in you life. You’ll remember this all your life. You think this is going to change everything. She won’t be anything without you. OOhhh raising kids is such a huge responsibility. There’s only two things you need to think about right now and that’s this..”
I could see the wheels turning in his head. He lifted his gaze from the television and focused on the ceiling tiles above his head. It was about to be what we called in my small circle of
friends as a “Marvin Moment”. Marvin Moments were very rare. I myself had only personally witnessed two such events. A Marvin Moment is a break in the tide of stupidty and irrational thought that was constantly flowing through Marvin’s head. A brief few seconds of complete clarity and absolute truth, and it happened in my very last conversation with Marvin.
“It’s a fucking work, life’s a fucking work”. (A work in wrestling terminology refers to a storyline or script that the wrestlers follow in order to develop a completely fake reality show complete with violence, love, hate and retribution.”
“Life is a fucking work, its already scripted and set into motion. What’s gonna happen is gonna happen. Its just a matter of time. You can teach, instruct, and demonstrate all you want but that little football over there is gonna do what she’s gonna do. Your only job as a parent is to show her how to chase the belt. Let me make it simple for you. Who’s the best wrestler of all time?”
I knew the answer was Ric Flair but again I was cut off before I could respond verbally.
“That’s right. The Nature Boy. And why was Flair the best wrestler of all time and a 16 time world champion? Because he was SUPPOSED to be. It was always in the cards that He was gonna be the best. All his parents had to do was show him how to chase the belt. Everything happened as it was supposed to. Ric Flair is the Nature Boy because no one else could be. It had to be Flair. He wasn’t molded into the greatest wrestler of all time. Its just exactly who he was supposed to be. Once you see that belt its up to you. You’re either gonna chase it or spend your days carrying someone else’s baggage. Life is a work. Once you realize that, you can stop carrying around all that fucking worry and nervousness that’s eating you alive. It’s all a work. It will happen or not happen and all of its supposed to happen. Take your little football over there, show her the beauty and privilege of being 16 time world champion and the glorious belt that comes with the title. Then tell her to go chase the belt. Life is gonna shit on you and shower you with gold for as long as you exist. That’s gonna happen, sometimes you’ll be a baby face and sometimes you’ll be a heel, just never stop chasing the belt even when you have it in your hands.”
(The “belt” refers to the oversized, decorated and bejeweled, leather weightlifting belt that is presented to the designated champion of a particular weight class or specialty within the ranks of professional wrestling. The script for most wrestling “works” involves a good guy referred to as a “Baby Face” in a conflict with a bad guy or a “Heel”. In order to keep the scripts interesting and the viewers involved the performers are encouraged to be over the top with every aspect of their particular wrestling character. Over acting is a requirement. Drama builds, conflicts arise and the culmination of any wrestling superstar’s career usually involves a sudden and unannounced “heel or baby face turn”. The drastic and surprising character flip in which a good guy becomes bad or vice versa.)
“All you gotta do is get her to chase the belt, the rest of it’s a work. Dickie stop making up shit to worry about. Life’s a work, chase the belt. That all you need to know.” Marvin issued me one final painful back slap, tossed the television remote into my lap and walked out the door. That was my last conversation with Marvin.
As the door slowly closed behind him I began to smile. The smile evolved into a full-on belly laugh that startled my wife awake. She nervously lifted her sightline to the bassinette next to the bed.
“She’s fine, go back to sleep” I said.
Marvin’s pursuit of the belt led him down some dark and terrible paths. Places that he and only he alone could survive. That was and is his storyline but he’s never stopped chasing the belt. Marvin was a heel most of his life which some would take to mean he’s a bad person. He was, is, and will never be a bad person, he’s just a really great fucking heel. He’s do for a baby face turn. Me and my wife taught our daughter to never stop chasing the belt. Life is a work, everything else will take care of itself.