What up y'all?
Ok, so this at first may seem like a very interesting topic, but this is something that I recently discussed in a history class and find it absolutely incredible. I am sure that all of us Americans and other countries know that the US is known for its entertainment and how that industry has grown so much. It is an industry that makes or breaks people. It is really an idea that almost takes over our entire lives with reality TV shows, music, movies, and amusement parks. It really is a huge part of our culture and something that will probably only get better. (Although there are those out there who feel things are only going to get worse with entertainment.) But let me now tell you about on of the first American people seeking fame: Sam Patch.
I am sure that you are thinking to yourself right now, man that name sounds familiar but you can not really put your finger on it. Well, you should know the name because he was one of the first entertainers, but there are also numerous plays, stories, and children's books written about this man. He was known for being a famous cliff jumper into water. There were many high falls that he jumped off of especially being the Niagara falls. He was a man that lived during the Industrial Revolution and started out as a mill worker. He was actually a young boy that started in the Mills, and the entertainment for the young boys was to jump off cliffs into water. They would do only heights of 30 - 50 feet, but Sam Patch seemed to have a knack for jumping and made a career out of it.
First, he was doing little jumps and telling citizens about it and quickly he gained quite an audience. He went from jumping 50 feet to his highest at 125 feet. He also had spectators from a couple hundred to 12,000 people!!! That is absolutely amazing since he would have town or city size numbers of people coming out to watch him jump, dangerously, into the water. It really was quite an amazing feat because with those heights if he moved wrong or slightly jumped off the cliff wrong, he would die. This was extremely dangerous and had to be done very well. The most amazing fact about his story was that whenever he jumped off the cliffs he was drunk!
That is a part of the story that many people may not ever realize. But almost every single time he jumped off a cliff he was very drunk. He was actually a man that was known for using his fame and fortune to get drunk. His whole life eventually revolved around getting drunk and finding the next big spot to jump from. Of course, that whole idea of perilously jumping off cliffs from 125 feet up into rushing water drunk caught up with him, and he did eventually drop to his death, Although, he actually jumped extremely well but at the last second he made a terrible mistake that killed himself. Yet, his body was not found for months and many myths about him were made about his whereabouts, but he did infact die. His legacy did live on however through stories and plays, but that just shows how enthralled our culture is with entertainment.
I feel that sometimes we are so wrapped up in entertainment and people will do anything to be successful. I am one to admit that I love entertainment and movies. I love all those ideas but know that it is not really the life for me. After the death of Sam Patch many people questioned his morals and character to eventually decided he was a drunk sinner searching for fame and fortune. It just seems that so many celebrities still now wind up in the same situation at the end of their reign. I enjoy entertainment, but not some of the outcomes. There are many celebrities that wind up being fine, but those that slip away, really slip away! But is it not great that we can look at history and compare it to today and where we are now? That would be change and continuity baby and I love it! Yeah, I am that history dork and this stuff rocks my world!!!
Joshua
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