Richard Simmons

I have a confession. I'm a bit of a fan of, all people, Richard Simmons. Why? Well, he's a pretty positive guy, he doesn't hold grudges (go watch any of the thousands of clips of him appearing on Letterman), he's happy about himself and he's confident enough that he doesn't mind being totally camp or make himself look a bit foolish in front of millions of people. Most of all, he seems like a fairly kind individual, and that is one of the most important aspects to anyone really.

You see, I think that when most people watch Richard Simmons they don't see a guy who has a very strong will, but I do think this. Richard Simmons is happy in his own skin (literally - *shudder*) that it really doesn't matter what mockers like Letterman think. Simmons goes out and does what he wants to do, and to hell with what others think of him. And in the process, he's actually helped out a reasonable amount of people who do feel bad about themselves.

Therefore, Richard Simmons, I salute you. You may have shocking dress sense, you may act the fool, you might show your 60+ year old legs on Letterman far too often, and you may market ridiculous steamers, but you are still an unlikely role model for our generation.