“Would you rather be a member of a world championship sports team or be the champion of an individual sport? Which sport would you choose?”
Roger Federer, BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, CA (March 2014)
Nick Drake | Five Leaves Left (1969)
Haunting sparse acoustic guitar and voice lightly backed up by pretty orchestrations. This troubled artist never received the recognition he deserves before ending his short life. Give him a listen now.
Book of Questions 7: Do you think that the world will be a better or...
“Do you think that the world will be a better or a worse place 100 years from now?”
Worse. Much worse.
Book of Questions 6: You discover that wonderful one-year-old child...
“You discover that wonderful one-year-old child is, because of a mixup at the hospital, not yours. Would you want to exchange the child to try to correct the mistake?”
I would not want to make the exchange, but I would feel compelled to do it. There isn't a great solution to this dilemma. I would hope that I would still be able to be involved in some way in the life of the child whom I raised for his first year.
I'd also like to reserve the right to trade back before age 18 if I didn't like my biological kid. (Just kidding.)
Book of Questions 5: If a new medicine were developed...
“If a new medicine were developed that would cure arthritis but cause a fatal reaction in 1 percent of those who took it, would you want it to be released to the public?”
Yes, though the risk and those odds would need to be carefully explained to the patient who chooses to take the medication. I'm a big believer in choice.
Book of Questions #4: If you could spend one year...
“If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do so? If not, why not?”
Sure. I'm up for any amount of time in perfect happiness... or even imperfect. Bring it on. I'm not bothered if I won't be able to remember it later. I even promise not to ask questions.
Absolutely phenomenal
Trombone Shorty
Trombone Shorty at Mondavi Winery, Napa Valley (Aug 2015)
Book of Questions #3
“If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?”
(So much for the easy ones.)
There's someone I have known for a long time. He has never seemed very comfortable in his own skin: always seems nervous, always seems ill at ease with most of the people around him. The few glimmers I see of his true self are great. He's a really funny guy and has a lot to offer the world, but most of the time he fades in to the shadows. I would tell him that it is okay to be yourself. It's okay to admit to others -- and even more important to admit to himself -- how he feels. It's more important to be true to yourself than to other people or to a book.
(If he read this, I seriously doubt he would even realize I was writing about him.)
Why haven't I told him? I guess I'm as big a chicken shit as he is. I'm now too far removed from his life to easily be open with him. (Admittedly, openness is not something either one of us know much about.) I love him and want him to be happy.
Someday, when I'm strong enough, I hope I'll be able to help him be strong as well. Until then, these are just pixels on the screen.
Book of Questions #2
“Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Would you be willing to spend a night alone in a remote house that is supposedly haunted?”
With a definition of ghosts as the spirits of the dead that somehow exist (and act) among us, I guess I'm about 95% sure they don't exist. But IF they do exist, then I guess that it would be possible that negative energy in the form of what we call evil could hang on as well.
That 5% of doubt means I won't be volunteering to spend the night in a haunted house any time soon.
Book of Questions #1
“For a person you loved deeply, would you be willingto move to a distant country knowing there would be little chance of seeing your friends or family again?”
Absolutely.