my namesake show

Tonight is the annual screening on CBS of my favorite Rankin-Bass special: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

It helps, of course, that he shares my first name (phonetically, at least). And I share some of his “misfit” self-confidence: as a kid I was never part of any one group, and that’s always been my way. I was tall and awkward, never really fitting in with the athletic kids. And I wasn’t the über-academic, either. I ski raced, yet I also had some of my best friends on the debate team. In college, I was part of student government, yet also a board member of the fringe film society.

Even now, I get along with many people, but I’m seldom ever a part of a single, identifiable “gang.” I still don’t quite fit in.

And that’s okay.

And that’s why I look forward to the annual broadcast of Rudolph. He’s a kindred spirit.