in a former life: early 90s Chicago messenger doc

This was me, as "BikeBoy" circa 1992/93.

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/on-video-chip-williams-shot-t...

"It's a service industry," explains Curt, a messenger who wears a red beret sporting a Boy Scout insignia. "By definition we're servants and we're treated as such." But it's not all bad: "It's sexy. It's the closest I'll ever be to being a rock 'n' roll star. That's what suckered me in, in the beginning." With theatrical flair, he poses a syllabuslike list of pseudo-ponderous inquiries: "Am I avoiding preparing for a future by living exclusively in the now? Am I avoiding adulthood? Am I--as bike boy--a boy eternal? Is this job going to kill me or is it going to keep me young forever?"

http://bikejerks.com/blog/2012/12/31/concrete-rodeo-early-90s-chica...

A substantial part of my 15 minutes of fame. Viewing time is 22 mins.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on July 6, 2018 at 8:34am

Great show curt(is)! Enjoyed viewing it and seeing the human side of the job. You are a rock star! Let's ROLL!

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Permalink Reply by curt(is) locke on July 7, 2018 at 3:24pm

Chip (the director) did a terrific job with shooting (looong before GoPro) and editing. I was really happy with the presentation and documentation of this moment of my life.

Looking back, I do wish that I had left the game around the time the film was dropped in '94 (after 8 years of delivery) and pursued a new path, instead of lingering and playing Peter Pan until I was 39. I'll confess that for a number of years after I retired I would occasionally consider "making a coming back", but then I would remember just how angry/pissed off/bitter I had become in what I now realize was a highly toxic work environment. Still, I would have dreams about it for years. It was a great adventure. for awhile, and I felt so alive.

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Permalink Reply by David Henri on July 8, 2018 at 3:41am

Oh my god, that was great! Thanks for posting this.

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Permalink Reply by curt(is) locke on July 9, 2018 at 5:18am

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

It seems like a long time ago, but 25 years?! It was but a few blinks. Which calls to mind the great wisdom that time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

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Permalink Reply by Filka Bean on July 9, 2018 at 8:38am

Thanks for linking to this, Curt(is)! I agree with Tom and David: great video and good insights! Plus the footage of the loop with zero bike infrastructure anywhere is a blast. Glad it's today today, even if we are all older.

And your answers to the questions you quoted in the OP still ring true: on the bike it's all good. Off the bike... Seems like this is (still?) the era of age and fears.