Saturday, December 27, 2008

Quick Quackery 12/27/08

It is not the same to talk of bulls as to be in the bullring.

Spanish proverb
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I can talk about acting because I have been on the stage. But I won't. Instead I will surmise that almost any occupation in life whether a profession or a hobby, is too often looked upon and thought upon as being much simpler than it is.

I'm not much of a sports fan but I will occasionally watch a baseball game. I enjoy watching the pitcher before the pitch because I know something about the thinking going on. It's a battle of brains between the pitcher and the batter. When the pitcher winds up to throw the ball a decision has been made. There is an agreed upon tactic between the pitcher and the catcher based upon observation, study, intuition and the character of the game up to that point. Many factors come into play with each pitch. But most people are probably totally unaware of the thinking that is going on. Don't talk of bulls.

If you go to a tennis match you will see everyone watching the ball. The heads all go back and forth, back and forth, great exercise for the neck. My head goes back and forth in the opposite direction, or more likely I look at only one of the palyers. I like to watch the thinking of the one who is receiving the ball because it doesn't matter so much if he hits it, it's where he hits it that counts. Don't talk of bulls.

I had a nasty neighbor once who said that I looked tired. I told him I was double shifting. He wanted to know what I did. When I told him I was a radio announcer he said "Oh, well, that's not hard work." I wondered if he had ever been on the air in a radio studio. I think probably not.

No doubt there are jobs that are harder than broadcasting but don't talk of bulls. It sounds easy because we make it sound easy.

Ballerinas float effortlessly through the air on their toes. Have you ever seen a ballerina's toes? Don't talk of bulls.

One day a building on my block in New York which was still under construction caught fire. Burning pieces of the building were blowing off and falling to the street below. It was a tall apartment building about 50 stories of it had been completed. The fire was on the top floors. The only way the fire fighters could get to it was by the construction elevator on the side of the building. But that elevator stopped two or three stories above the blazing inferno. I watched in awe as those people jumped into the fire, at the risk of life and injury, not knowing what was underneath them, to put the fire out. Don't talk of bulls.

A well kept garden is a beautiful thing, lush, fecund greenery and many colored flowers, delighting the eyes and offering sweet aromas to the air all the way down to the ground. But what's under the ground, where all the work is being done, only the flower and the gardener know. Don't talk of bulls.



The Vagabond

8 comments:

Big Mark 243 said...

Good entry ... now go to bed!

betty said...

excellent entry DB! we can't assume something is easy or hard unless we've walked in that person's shoes no matter if it is work, situations, emotions, etc

betty

Dannelle said...

I never heard this Spanish Proverb before but in essence I have said this all my life. True and duly noted, Dannelle

Joyce said...

I had a friend who always assumed that my job was easier than his because his was physical and mine was at a desk (working the old brain). Wonder if he still feels that way...Good entry.
Hugs, Joyce

Rose said...

I really enjoyed this entry! Kudos!

Hugs, Rose

Lisa said...

Very good entry and well worth the read. I especially like your view of tennis ~ watching the other player.

Breezy said...

I agree with Betty , Until you have walked in someone elses shoes you can't make an accurate opinion about something. The same goes for judging someones character or personality. Until you take time to get to know them and what they are going through you don't have any idea why they are acting the way they are, so don't assume or judge.

Beth said...

Walk a mile in my shoes, right?