Athletes, Models, and Writers

by Luke Ramer

Writers have one advantage over athletes and actors and actresses and models—all the strong beautiful young people.

A writer is better with experience—with age. An old bastard has just as much chance of making the big leagues as a shiny 22-year-old fresh out of college.

A young model has a limited window. She’s not going to find success at 55 when everything is sagging or reinforced with plastic. A high school star quarterback better hope he makes his millions in his 20s or he might end up with CTE and a lien on his house.

And even when these success stories—

these beautiful and talented people—

make all the millions early in life,

they often squander everything and end up dead in a bathtub or forgotten in a suburb. Same thing.

That’s not to say that writers don’t make mistakes, miss their windows, or blow their good luck. Endure the broke bank accounts, the blackouts and hangovers, the being irresponsible and facing the consequences, the days when life feels hopeless. Like our prime is behind us.

The difference is writers play better with battered bodies and minds that are littered with scars…these things don’t end our careers; they only give us better stuff to write about.