Nov 28
“Life is on the wire…the rest is just waiting”
What movie popularized the quote of Papa Wallenda above? If you are reading my blog then you most likely recognized it immediately from Rounders, a poker movie from ‘98 that came out ahead of the poker boom and ahead of it’s time. Many of us watched it over and over again during home games and homework. We could probably recite every line, particularly the one above from memory. Now I’m wondering how many of you really understand what Matt Damon means when he quotes it?
I ask because I watched rounders with a friend about a month ago and I realized that I didnt know what it meant. I decided to swallow my pride, and admit my ridiculous ignorance about a line I’d heard literally hundreds of times and asked my friend, I was shocked that he didn’t know either.
To me this reflects how many of us pass through life. Sure that others have answers we don’t, and often befuddled by how educated everyone around us seems. We put up fronts and act in the know when really we all don’t know much. To me this is the first step to no longer being out of it. Many people in all walks of life take words that come out of their own mouth as gospel. Especially older people don’t seem to comprehend that simply because their own experiences reflect certain truths does not mean that they can be extended universally. In the end, there’s only one certainty concerning matters that can’t be proven and it’s this: no one should be certain. To be so reflects a lack of insight or interest or something else that I can’t find the word for.
Now that I’m done ranting about that, onto the content of the quote. For those of you who don’t know, it’s speaker, Papa Wallenda was a great tight-rope walker reflecting about the banality of everyday life. To him the only excitement came from this physically intense, life wagering activity. To me this seems to be true for everyone to a point. What makes life new, exciting and worth living for you? For awhile I found life in poker. Excitement over winning and losing sums of money that I didn’t quite feel truly comfortable winning and losing. The idea that a life changing moment was a mouse click away for me whereas almost impossible for many others really got me going.
As with most good things, excitement dries up over time and suddenly this just doesn’t get my juices flowing anymore. So the search begins for my new wire (and I’m really not sure it should ever have been poker to begin with). I think many people don’t mind the “waiting”, they go through life never on the wire, reliant on routine, calm, collected and corpse-like. Hell, they even fear asking what a quote from their favorite movie means.
In the end I don’t know what or where life is for me so I don’t really have any sort of good ending to this blog. I guess I’ll go lie on my couch and watch fresh prince until 4 in the morning like most nights :)
A quick word about comments on my blog. I encourage EVERYONE reading to leave feedback. I will approve anything that is above a 3rd grade level. So basically, anything that is not some sort of pointless insult that will interest no one such as, “I hate you Steve” I encourage and appreciate. I’ll also try to respond to questions as much as possible.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:28 am
gaaaaaaaaamble
November 28th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
very interesting blog subject today -your words make me think a bit about my live too – i play poker only in low limit sngs (22$ – 55$)but poker is a part of my life – when you wrk 40 hours+ a week (currently as a software consultant) its really hard to get your way out (or at least with) the daily work grind – imo you really need smoething that makes your life “long-term” worthy – i searched really long for that “subject” – in the beginning i thought sports was my way -( was semi professional soccer player) but when you get older (even getting 25 is “old” in this business) you cant rely on your body the way you could when you were 18 -> then i was on the search for the “thing” that makes my life special for me again … and in the moment i think i found it (or i hope so ;-) )
I found a girl which makes my satisfied (not only concerning sexuality ;-) ) with my life even though i have to survive the daily work grind 5 days a week -> she makes me happy – and so far excitement hasnt dried up …
i wish you luck finding a new long lasting excitment !!!!
greetings from germay and excuse my bad english !!!
November 28th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Haha hey cuz! Nice blog, I’m totally going to stalk this and read your updates. Good to see you last week!
November 28th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
it’s definitely risky business living your life for the moments with great risk, but if you don’t live those moments, are you really living?
what?
November 29th, 2007 at 5:04 am
I always thought it meant lifes path was already chosen, like a wire youre attached to, and that youre just waiting for it to happen.
December 5th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
We’re all still looking for our “wire.” I would say the purpose of life is to not regret anything on your death bed. We do this by living on the “wire”. You’re not alone in this essential, yet universal search.
December 6th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I always took this to mean that if your not doing what you love,
what you live for, then your mostly wasting your time.
September 8th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Being obsessive complusive, I have always loved this quote ever since hearing in in Rounders… To me, it truly reflects another quote about “life isn’t how many breaths you take but how many moments take your breath away”…
November 9th, 2008 at 6:30 am
“..Hell, they even fear asking what a quote from their favorite movie means.” Well done, thanks for sharing. Happy wireing!
January 6th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
When you’re living in the moment and experience all the stress and excitement that it brings.
That is really what life is all about. When I watched my daughter being born that quote finally
made absolute sense to me.
By the way who doesn’t love Worm in that movie. What a great character
February 5th, 2009 at 2:16 am
if u dont knw wht is the purpose of ur life …….if u r not sure abt wht wud keep u happy
if u don plan nd live life as it cums……would it b “waiting” or “living on the wire” ????
July 24th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I could’nt figure out what he was quite sayin i thought he said poppa luinda (papa wallenda) and i began searching for a poker player named that no such luck. matt name drops all through this movie quotes etc. its a great movie really inspired me to be a poker player more than ever as for the no limit part that will come when i get a bigger bank roll life is on the wire you can pretend it is not but it truely is..
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:46 am
Like the “Greed is Good” quote from the movie Wallstreet, many young viewers such as yourselves were misdirected by the glamour and intensity of Rounders. Adrenaline is a drug and to guide one’s life by it – fast car driving, extreme sports, sexual conquests, high-stakes poker is a chimera, a false prophet. Karl “Papa” Wallenda’s quote “Life is being on the wire, everything else is just waiting” is really a poor philosophy to follow to live one’s life. Risking your life to “feel alive” is so silly, so limiting, so juvenile. Rather than a expression of personal liberty, it actually is a declaration of deep personal angst and confusion. It is a sign that the believer has just started his path to fulfillment, not that he has found it.
So, rather than setting up a false dichotomy – I am either risking it all or just hanging around – I, after many years, have discovered that deep satisfaction and meaning in life can be found through:
1. Love. First and foremost, love for one’s family and friends is the only truly satisfying way to live one’s life. On your deathbed, you will only ask yourself if you loved as completely as you could.
2. Life long learning. Study, read, ask. Philosophy, science, math, music – there is so much that is truly fascinating in life and worth lifelong contemplation.
3. Physical Activity. I personally love skiing but many of my friends are avid surfers, bikers, backpackers. There is such deep personal joy in working out.
4. Travel. Save up as much money as you can, quit your job and travel the world. Stay out of the US for at least six months. Go to South America, learn spanish and Salsa. Go to Bangkok. Bicycle from Saigon to Ho Ch Minh City. Teach English in Tokyo. Go hiking in Nepal. You will meet so many interesting people and, since you are travelling, you will be forced to shed yourself on unnecessary material objects. You will learn the meaning of the word freedom.
Rounders is a great movie. But see past the machismo and bravado of the fictionalized lifestyle. And please don’t give too much credence to Papa Wallenda’s quote. After all, he fell to his death in 1978.
November 13th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Mr Weinstein 5 STAR from me, well said.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I think the simplest meaning of it is “Living in the present” Savoring every moment doing what we love(for which we search our whole lives).
P.S: Teddy Weinstein can’t ropewalk. He already fell because his post is retarded. He talks about all this taking no risks and then becomes a forrest gump in his point 4.
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Very cool! Learned something today. Thanks.
December 13th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Thanks for that post. I was wondering about him as well. Were strange we humans arent we? We spend a massive amount of time waiting for blow outs (gambling sessions mostly ending in losses of capital)and a film like that will spur 95% of all gamblers to get back on the game again. Its all gloryfied madnes but you cant help but loving it. Maybe it makes us feel alive.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:03 am
All interesting analysis thus far… This is a very interesting quote and if you interpretet it to believe what it means to your life, I’m not sure if there is a wrong meaning to this quote. However, I always thought Mike McDermott who references the quote in the movie is comparing his life as a poker player to that of Karl (Papa) Wallendas life as a high wire walker… Ok, now to compare, Mike is a poker player in the movie, he’s doing it for a living for the most part, and what he’s doing for a living certainly has its risks and rewards… Its not your normal lively hood… It can be an easy living a lot easier than most lines of work, but yes that risk is always there that with one mistake or one “bad fall” of a card you can lose it all. Wallenda lived the same live, this was his job, he was an entertainer which brought great fame to his name and why he is remembered but then with that reward came the risk he also took since he thrilled crowds with the factor that he and the flying Wallendas worked with no safety net that one wrong step up on the highwire could be his very last. So in a nutshell, Mike is comparing his life on the felt to Wallendas life on the wire, and off the felt like Wallenda off the wire, he is just waiting, waiting for the next game the next hand the next big pot etc. etc. etc.
March 24th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Well put, Tony. I mean you really have to be somewhat sick to be a professional poker player. Risking your livelihood isn’t something that most people consider doing. Most people believe in safe, sound investments like a job that will provide a steady paycheck and no risk. But at the same time it’s risk vs. reward and to the thrill seeker that is what this quote means. The moments you feel alive is when life is on the wire, everything else is just waiting for those moments to come. The best poker players are action players.