I am definitely guilty of the behavior about which I am about to speak : The topic in question is that of obsessions. Fortunately, the things that I yearn to have are simple things.

When The Cure puts out a new album, I find myself resorting to writing a bad check in order to have it right away. If they ever play around this area, you can bet I’ll be donating plasma in order to afford a ticket. And if by some odd chance I got to meet Robert Smith, the lead singer, I would probably flip.

I realize I’ll probably never get the chance to meet him, and I can go on living my life as I normally do without feeling like I’m missing something. However, there are people in this world that go to great lengths to get things that they want. And if they still can’t get them, they go even further to get their revenge.

There have been several instances in the past couple years showing just what I mean. One estranged Steffi Graf fan, disheartened when Graf had lost the number one ranking in women’s tennis, stabbed then-number one Monica Seles, taking her out of competition to this day. All because Seles had taken the crown from his idol.

The famed guitarist from Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, was threatened at a recent concert by a fan. The fan had tried to work his way up to the stage to attack Page because he didn’t like the idea of Page and Led Zep singer Robert Plant rehashing the old days of Zeppelin greatness.

And recently, Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar was being stalked by a woman that was trying to kill him. The woman brought a gun to a recent game in Toronto with the intent to slay the player. She was angry when several attempts at a relationship with Alomar had fallen through. She was planning on killing Alomar, then turning the gun on herself.

How do people get to this stage? I usually try to express my opinions in the space the Daily provides me, but today I’m struggling. Not because I’m being oppressed or anything; it just mystifies me to the point that I can’t draw an opinion.

I guess it shows the true power of human emotion. Many times emotion can outweigh any amount of physical strength in the battles of everyday life. Strong thoughts often lead to strong actions. Without any emotion, a person can become a mannequin in the face of humanity, an extra in the motion picture of life.

But with all of these weird occurrences, it is becoming painfully obvious that emotions must be harnessed, or they become too much for a person to handle. Such a person becomes nothing but a human shell for the overwhelming emotion to use in its quest for whatever it desires.

To be frankly honest, this type of thing scares the hell out of me. My advice to those who may be in danger? Well, I guess I would say that you should try not to do all of your dreaming in the realm of reality. After all, they rarely come true. And it seems that whenever people try to live out their fantastic dreams, they tend to mutate into nightmares.

Christopher Clair is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Waukon.