Be a Macho Man in the Sky

Receiving words of wisdom from Macho Man Randy Savage

Be a Macho Man in the Sky

By Eric Darsie

 

Once upon a time or two, Beverly Hills and I were joined by a few fans when we went to see the wrestling legend Randy “Macho Man” Savage on his rap tour when he came through Saint Cloud, Minnesota, on the “Be a Man” tour.  For Beverly and me, seeing our childhood hero was a dream come true.

 

Granted his music wasn’t the greatest, we a had a great time watching Randy Savage rapping his songs and hearing the fans chant “Macho! Macho!”  Who wouldn’t have a great time seeing their childhood hear do something other than what the hero’s known for doing?

 

The thing that made our night was, we had a backstage pass to meet the Macho Man.  We were able to get pictures taken and autographs signed, along with some “Q and A” time with the “Macho King.”  A lot of questions were asked about his wrestling career and wrestling in general, but when it came to my turn to ask him a question, I had to ask his opinion on men in my generation not growing up.

 

“That’s a great question and one that I don’t get often, yeah,” the Macho One started to respond.  Of course, he stroked the beard when he spoke with one hand and with the other, he did the finger twirl that became his trademark, “I think in part that it comes from their parents, the people of my generation, yeah.  We didn’t want them to have the rough times and trials we had to live through and want them to be in comfort, so we babied them.  That ain’t right.  Instead of having them freak out when trials came, we took the bullet for them when the mad man tried to bring through a time they needed to grow up.”

 

We nodded, hearing the wisdom Randy Savage poured out onto the lucky batch to receive VIP tickets to meet him after his show.

 

“Macho, sir, what are some ways men can take to grow up and become a man?” Beverly asked, since no one wanted to take a chance and hear what Randy had to say.

 

A few moments went by when Mr. Savage thought about it.  When the thought came, Macho Man said, “You know, it’s hard to say, yeah, because every man is different.  But with what the chorus goes in my song, ‘Be a Man,’ men need to stop runnin’ away when they’re scared.  They need to face the trails in their life and defeat it.  They need to drop the big elbow on it and become the king of the ring of their life.”

 

“Makes sense,” I added.  “We need to take responsibility for our actions and face the hate that comes our way.”

 

“Yea!  Yea!  Yea!”  Randy Savage added.  “But I gotta go, Macho-maniacs!  Thanks for comin’ to the show and the awesome questions!  Dig it!  Oooooh yeah!”

 

We stood up and applaud the Macho King when he stood up and walked out that night.  Thankfully I had the memories of meeting him and the words of wisdom he passed to us.  The picture of him I had didn’t turn out, which sucks, but that’s okay, because I had the memory of what he told us.  I need to take responsibility for my actions and need to face my trials head on.

 

To be honest, I didn’t think much about what Randy Savage said between 2004 and 2011, when he toured and when he passed away (respectfully).  After the tragic passing, I was thinking about my Macho memories and this was on the top of the list.  Why was this on top of my list?  Obviously meeting the six-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in person and having a chance to have a “meet and greet” with him, him giving us some words of advice that left a mark on my heart.

 

Stepping up and taking our trials by the horns and kickin’ it’s face in is what Macho Man wanted from our generation and it’s something I am definitely trying to pass along, as well as implying it into my life.  Thanks Randy for all the memories you left for us in the world of professional wrestling and every other place, too.

Snappin’ into a Slim Jim, Macho Man Randy Savage style! Oooooooh Yeah! Dig it!

“the Dirty Dawg” Darsie