Walter Payton Poster

Why do I have a Walter Payton poster in my wall?

I suppose I put up the poster because I am now in Boston, and I have a LOT of Chicago pride when I'm in Chicago. I want to remember my roots, and brag to people that I come from a cooler city than they do.

And my friend Erin got me the poster for my birthday, so it's a reminder of her.

A bit more deeply,

For most of my childhood I had two heroes: Walter Payton and Mick Jagger. So this is definitely a reference/homage/recalling/calling up of my childhood. Why call up your childhood? Perhaps it was a more innocent time, a more pure time, and adulthood--for all it's advantages--is one messy affair. When I was running around outside as Walter Payton, or diving over the basement couch like he used to dive over defenders on fourth and inches, I had nothing else on my mind. I was free. Now, no matter what I am doing, I've always got a LOT of stuff in my head . . . my job, relationships, money, what the future will bring, etc. I carry around a lot more, I'm a lot heavier, and that makes it a lot harder to jump over the Green Bay Packers defenders when it's fourth and goal, ball on the one yard line.