[Harp-L] What IS a pro? (warning...long)

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

Well, honestly I don't know, but I think it's anyone who shows  
PROficiency. A person can be a professional (such as a doctor) and  
although they may be 77th out of a class of 78, they are STILL a pro.  
Now, it seems to me that it would be a good idea to have that very  
fact posted on the wall of the doctor's office were it not for the  
fact that just because someone graduated at the top of their class  
doesn't mean they will be a better doctor. The 'lesser' graduate may  
try harder, study harder, and altogether keep abreast of the latest  
trends KNOWING that they started out with a proverbial cloud over  
their head.

Whereas the top graduate may rest on their laurels and  coast through  
life, in much the same way that I coasted through high school.

Here's why I could never be a pro. When I was born it was raining.  
Sept in the rain. It was raining bombs. I was born during an air  
raid. I was always a light sleeper. The slightest sound (didn't have  
to be actual noise) would wake me. You have heard of 20/20 vision,  
15/20 vision, even 10/20 vision. I have the equiv of 5/20 hearing. If  
I travel, I have to have my own goose feather pillow. Those floss and  
lumpy foam pillows at the hotels & motels don't cut it for me. Even  
if the hotel cost is $114.95 (or more) a night, the pillows are  
cheap. MY pillows cost $100.oo

I can hear the ice machine even if it's halfway down the hall. If  
someone buys a soft drink, I head it 'thud'. I can sometimes even  
hear the coin(s) drop. I hear the whir of the elevator motor and the  
obligatory 'bling' of the lighted service request button. I can't  
stay with someone who snores. Ergo: I don't travel well. Being a pro  
requires traveling. A LOT of traveling. I like to sleep in my own  
bed. Having been a govt. brat. I had been to 11 grade schools, 3 high  
schools, a trade school & and a Jr. college. I probably moved 23  
times or more, but it was never one nighters and I would get used to  
my bed. In the SeeBees, I was in a ship's compartment the size of a  
two car garage. There were 2 dozen of us stacked 3 bunks high. When  
we had Marines aboard, we were 36 stacked 4 bunks high. It was tough,  
but I was always tired, so I survived.......barely.

Movement under my feet? I hate mushy stages. We're talking about  
those black panels of plywood set in steel picture frames which can  
be assembled and dis-assembled. They're 'supposed' to be made of  
3/4" (19mm for our foreign friends) SEVEN ply BCD exterior glued  
plywood. Such as used for poured concrete forms. Very very stiff  
stuff. I have seen them in 5/8" (16mm) FIVE ply CDX plySCORD. Reminds  
me of the time I was in construction and we were working on an  
apartment building roof. A roof used to be 5/8" plywood on 16"  
centered joists. Now they are 1/2" plySCORD on 24" centers (with  
clips between the joists). Well, I went through a piece, through the  
third floor, went through the cheap a$$ sub-flooring and down into  
the second floor. Rolls of carpeting stopped my fall.......luckily.

When I had my 29' sailboat, I EXPECTED some movement. Rocking,  
rolling, pitching, yawing, bobbing, but I knew what to expect, was  
concentrating on the boat, and that was my job. If I try to play  
harmonica and the ground is moving, it breaks my concentration, and  
messes me up (psycologically).

I DON't like the ground to move when I'm walking on it. I must be  
some sort of cat. Leone DOES (after all) mean Lion, so I guess I like  
solid ground under my feet. This is why I cringe when I see a lot of  
animation and jumping around. Might work for 'Cirque de Soliel', but  
it bugs me.

So, that's it. Oh, and one more thing......to be a pro on HARP, you  
have to be good.

smokey joe & the Cafe s (at the Windjammer)