I would like to suggest to Geno a few more arrows for his motivational “quiver” to use with his team, i.e., how much effort, repetition, and desire is required to forge a smooth and graceful result.
When Luciano Pavarotti was only twelve years old, the great Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli came to Pavarotti’s home city, Modena, to sing the opera “Lucia.” Luciano told his father that he desperately wanted to meet him. Luciano got their very early, but could not initially summon the courage to approach him before Gigli began vocalizing practice. Pavorotti said: “He sang for one hour: close, open, middle, peanno, forte. He sounded like three, four, or five different tenors!” Afterwards he finally approached Gigli, told him of his own ambitions to be a tenor, and asked Gigli: “how long did you study?” Gigli answered: “I just finished now!”
Geno had an interview during the NCAA tournament. He mentioned that he did not know much about rappers or rapping. But he liked one rapper because of the seeming ease with which he spoke. The rap seemed so natural, spontaneous and effortless. He speculated that as being the attraction to young people – such as players on his own team. He then noted that they fail to appreciate the incredible time and effort required to perfect an output that only appears easy and spontaneous. I am reminded of a poem by W. B. Yeats, “Adam’s Curse,” which beautifully expresses this idea.
“We sat together at one summer’s end,
That beautiful mild woman, your close friend,
And you and I, and talked of poetry.
I said, ‘A line will take us hours maybe;
Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought,
Our stitching and unstitching has been naught.
Better go down upon your marrow-bones
And scrub a kitchen pavement, or break stones
Like an old pauper, in all kinds of weather;
For to articulate sweet sounds together
Is to work harder than all these…”
“… And thereupon
That beautiful mild woman for whose sake
There’s many a one shall find out all heartache
On finding that her voice is sweet and low
Replied, ‘To be born woman is to know—
Although they do not talk of it at school—
That we must labour to be beautiful.’
I said, ‘It’s certain there is no fine thing
Since Adam’s fall but needs much labouring.
There have been lovers who thought love should be
So much compounded of high courtesy
That they would sigh and quote with learned looks
Precedents out of beautiful old books …”
That “breaking of stones … in all kinds of weather” does sound like one of Geno’s practices – right?
When Luciano Pavarotti was only twelve years old, the great Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli came to Pavarotti’s home city, Modena, to sing the opera “Lucia.” Luciano told his father that he desperately wanted to meet him. Luciano got their very early, but could not initially summon the courage to approach him before Gigli began vocalizing practice. Pavorotti said: “He sang for one hour: close, open, middle, peanno, forte. He sounded like three, four, or five different tenors!” Afterwards he finally approached Gigli, told him of his own ambitions to be a tenor, and asked Gigli: “how long did you study?” Gigli answered: “I just finished now!”
Geno had an interview during the NCAA tournament. He mentioned that he did not know much about rappers or rapping. But he liked one rapper because of the seeming ease with which he spoke. The rap seemed so natural, spontaneous and effortless. He speculated that as being the attraction to young people – such as players on his own team. He then noted that they fail to appreciate the incredible time and effort required to perfect an output that only appears easy and spontaneous. I am reminded of a poem by W. B. Yeats, “Adam’s Curse,” which beautifully expresses this idea.
“We sat together at one summer’s end,
That beautiful mild woman, your close friend,
And you and I, and talked of poetry.
I said, ‘A line will take us hours maybe;
Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought,
Our stitching and unstitching has been naught.
Better go down upon your marrow-bones
And scrub a kitchen pavement, or break stones
Like an old pauper, in all kinds of weather;
For to articulate sweet sounds together
Is to work harder than all these…”
“… And thereupon
That beautiful mild woman for whose sake
There’s many a one shall find out all heartache
On finding that her voice is sweet and low
Replied, ‘To be born woman is to know—
Although they do not talk of it at school—
That we must labour to be beautiful.’
I said, ‘It’s certain there is no fine thing
Since Adam’s fall but needs much labouring.
There have been lovers who thought love should be
So much compounded of high courtesy
That they would sigh and quote with learned looks
Precedents out of beautiful old books …”
That “breaking of stones … in all kinds of weather” does sound like one of Geno’s practices – right?
