LaMont Chu and the delusion of fame

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pivotal · 8 Nov YDAU (Interdependence Day, during Mario's puppet film)

When: 8 Nov YDAU, the dark storm-lit weight room, during the I-Day gala/Mario's film
What: Eleven-year-old LaMont Chu confesses a "crippling obsession with tennis fame." Lyle dismantles it: the famous do not feel what Chu burns for — "After the first surge, they care only that their photographs seem awkward or unflattering... They are trapped, just as you are." "To be envied, admired, is not a feeling. Nor is fame a feeling." "You burn with hunger for food that does not exist." The way out begins with "awareness of the fact of the cage." His two Remarks-about-what-is-true: "The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you," and "Fame is not the exit from any cage." Closes by noting a drop of sweat on Chu's temple — payment.