Dear Being Really Good at Something,
I was inspired to write this today partially because of my Loyal Reader's comment about Digital Photography (a reference to the photo presented here). Pretty cool picture, eh? Again - due to Digital Photography.
But, alas, I've already written Digital Photography, so I must get to the point. Today, I wish to talk about you, Being Really Good at Something.
On the River Rafting trip that my brother and I went on a week ago, there was a guy (pictured) who was really good at yo-yo-ing. I mean REALLY f-ing good. According to him (and I have no doubt about it from watching him work), he is a competition-level yo-yo-ist. His specialty is string-work, which involves putting the yo-yo to "sleep" (like when you walk the dog), and then threading the string around in all sorts of different crazy cat's-cradle-type contortions and spinning the yo-yo on the string. Then, when you think that's the whole deal, he whips it all back out and you realize the yo-yo was spinning that whole time. Pretty incredible.
Anyway, watching him in action and talking to him about it made me (and my Loyal Reader, of course) think about you, and what it takes to make that happen. This guy told us that yo-yo-ing is just what relaxes his mind. What he loves to do. Although he COULD compete, he doesn't, really, because it's just not about that to him. To him, it's just about being by himself, practicing, and you. It was a beautiful thing, really.
And I have often wondered what that would be like, you. It's become as close to a theme as possible in this ridiculous series of letters I have written - the things one could do if willing to just put in the time. I have no doubt that you is something I could achieve, but not without discipline. And, so far, that is something I lack.
It's not that I don't put time into getting better at things. That's basically my hobby. But it's putting time into getting REALLY GOOD at ONE thing that I don't have the discipline for. I have yet to find that ONE single thing that I want to devote myself to, fully and unconditionally. I enjoy drawing. Making music. Writing. Learning languages. And a million other things - but that's the problem. You is not something that can be done when I enjoy doing a million different things.
Not that that bothers me too much. For me, I'm pretty satisfied with being capable at A LOT of things. Sure, I'll never be able to win a competition or make somebody's jaw drop, but I'll be able to hang in most situations.
But what if I could attain a level of you? What would that be like? To be a master of anything? Now, there are those out there who laugh at somebody who's a great yo-yo-ist, calling them a "dork" or acting like it's just because they have nothing better to do. Those who are contemptuous of champion Scrabble players or Spelling Bee contestants. But all I have to say to those people is this: are they really disdainful, or just jealous of others for you? I find it doubtful that those types of people have ever tasted what it is like, Being Really Good at Something.
And so I give my utmost respect to those who have attained that high level of you, no matter what that Something is. Be it Chess, Yo-Yo, juggling, eating, or even spitting - it takes a lot of love and passion to become great, and it moves me near tears to think about those people out there who may have nothing else, but can always lose themselves and celebrate the fact that they - unlike so many others - are Really Good at Something.
So thank you, Being Really Good at Something. Not for anything you've done for me directly (because you haven't), but for simply existing. For allowing people to be great. For giving people passionate about any and all hobbies something to strive for. For allowing people the world over to get a glimpse and taste of perfection. For without you, there would truly be no beauty in the world.
Weepy-Eyed,
CVT
*This letter is dedicated to Bill "Fox" Coolman, yo-yo-ist supreme (pictured above). He may not have lit his yo-yo on fire and done flaming yo-yo tricks for me, but he still impressed the sh- out of me.
2 comments:
This post reminded me to look up that "Over the Shoulder Suicide" video. And what I discovered was that it is a completely different move than what Bill described. I can't begin to describe it, but there's an element added to this one that makes it about 30 times easier than what Bill was trying to accomplish.
What this means, practically speaking, is I now believe Bill INVENTED a trick by accident, and when he finally does it, will be the only person in the world capable of doing it. Which, of course, will give him the right to name it.
Not bad, Coolman.
Actually I'll try to describe it.
In the Coolman (Bill's move), you swing the yo-yo UNDER your arm, using the shoulder as an axis to swing it back up, and you try to land the yo-yo on the original string that is now anchored in your armpit. The reason this is so hard is that the yo-yo needs a good two feet of lead string AFTER it has cleared your shoulder to land back on the string. Just a matter of physics.
In the Over-The-Shoulder-Suicide, you swing the yo-yo OVER your arm. It again uses the shoulder as an axis, but this time it swings around under your armpit and outward from your body. So far, that's just the opposite of what Bill was doing. But then you extend your left index finger at the end of the yo-yo's trajectory and use that as another axis. The yo-yo wraps around that and lands back on its string. The big difference here is that to land on its string this time, because of the diameter of a finger versus your shoulder, you only need an inch or two of slack. So basically, all this move is is a fancy finger axis string trick, which is really not that hard for these guys. You could launch that yo-yo in almost any direction off your shoulder, and it won't matter because you can adjust your finger accordingly. But in the Coolman, you have to get the angle exactly right because you don't get to correct the yo-yo again before it has to land on the string.
The Over-The-Shoulder-Suicide is a bullshit move. Long live the Coolman!
PS: There is nothing suicidal about the OTSS. If you fling the yo-yo over your shoulder, it's going to hit you, at worst, in your back. In the Coolman, as was so succinctly demonstrated a good 20 times on the river, a botched attempt hits you in the back of your own head.
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