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Most of you won't recognize the picture but the story is a familiar one. If ever you want to hear it just tune in to E! and take in a few hours of The E! True Hollywood Story except that this tale is not followed by catharsis or death. The end lingers on and on, a perpetual hobgoblin for those that ever dreamt of being Maradona1.
There are events that embed themselves in a collective social concious - the "where you were when" events. For every Englishman that event was when the hand of god steered the Argentines past England in the 1986 World Cup. Who would wield the Hand of God but his chosen, Diego Maradona?
When we dream of getting to the top we often forget that it is accompanied by a slide to the bottom. What is less permanent than fame?
Many stars must find themselves the way I do on the basketball court. These days when I play I consider it victory to walk away unhurt. My ambition and pride are gone as I watch all the high school and college kids go at it with puffed chests, making it personal. I pick the ones who are most like I was at the time.
Likewise, those of fame and fortune struggle for a slow descent into oblivion. We're all going there, no doubt. Those of us who haven't climbed too high won't have far to fall (if we even fall at all), those who have would rather hold the bannister than be kicked (or fall) down the stairs.
Well Diego, I certainly hope you recover enough to hold the bannister for your next trip down.
1Maradona just underwent serious health problems, photos and more details are at the BBC. | 
