Norm Henderson: The Holy Fool

The Norm Show is a 1999 American sitcom about a hockey player, arrested for tax evasion, was given a second chance and was given a court order to do community service as a social worker.

The late Norm Macdonald, who I discovered after his death, was a quietly funny and a dim character. His act and his personality was based entirely on being relaxed, care-free and “anything goes”, except this stepped-back attitude creates many charming and inspiring moments to grow. In fact, Norm Henderson, the protagonist of Norm is also exactly like that.

But his life is far from relaxing: issued with a court order to be a social worker, Norm finds himself (trying to) help the lives of the lonely, the poor and the unfortunate. He makes new friends and adapts to his new life while reminiscing of the fames and attention that’s been taken away from him.

Although there are refrains to his success and the romanticizing as a hockey player, he begins to grudgingly accept this new life. He might not be as famous, or have as much money, or have as much attention, but he makes friends he can quickly and deeply care about, he faces moral decisions and challenges within his story, and albeit that he made a mistake and was kicked off his high podium as a hockey player, he doesn’t resent it. In fact, he begins to value this new life that has been given to him.

Norm is, to say the least, an idiot. He is, to say in the Orthodox Tradition, a Holy Fool. He makes mistakes and also has a charm about his idiocy. He doesn’t have malicious intentions, or hateful thoughts, and when he does, he quickly realises how they will affect his friends and those that he loves.

Norm, has the ascetic of the saints who adopted bizarre, unconventional, or foolish behaviour to embody humility, reject worldly vanity, and critique societal norms while remaining devoted to God.

Norm, as difficult as it is to contrast with his previous life, begins to adjust to this new life he has. Although it’s not the one he had before, and although it’s not filled with glamour and fame, there is one thing which makes the life he has been given far more valuable than the one he had before: it’s real.

As far as the script and writers and the audience is concerned, the people are real. His friends are real, and the laughs are real. Norm, as his name would counter-suggest, ultimately must reject the conventional norms and idyllic successes the worldly pleasures we’ve been conditioned to aim for. If he should choose to continue living this humble life in front of him he ultimately has to reject his life before.

In my own personal life, I have had many similar epochs of moments where I was on top of the world, and then suddenly crashed down the next week.

In sterquiliniis invenitur, in filth it will be found.