A long-time friend of mine, Tradewinds drummer Clive Rosteing, sent me an email this week concerning a news story about the American NFL star Cam Newton who had recently sent a very warm congratulatory note to retiring quarterback star Peyton Manning, publicly praising Peyton lavishly, and citing him as a role model for aspiring athletes. Consequently however – and this was the basis of my friend’s email – Cam’s letter drew a number of responses, lauding him for the sentiments, but criticizing the lack of basic grammar evident in his writing.
My response to Clive was simply “Give the banna a break.” I have long noted that God takes care when dispensing gifts to mankind to spread the good genes around – no one person comes equipped with all the right qualities or abilities; God shares the good stuff. Here we have a young man in Cam Newton who is gifted way beyond his peers on the football field, but definitely not in the upper percentile when it comes to literary expression. Our experience in life should tell us not to expect people to be gifted or blessed across the board. Here’s an example: time and again, we see instances of the Almighty having loaded up a woman with the kind of striking beauty that turns heads in public whenever she appears. Other less blessed women are green with envy, and men practically fall over themselves trying to make contact with the head turner. On the flip side, however, in many instances, to get to know this vision of beauty is to learn that she is sometimes woefully short in the brains department; God was lavish in one area, but very stingy in another.
In my young days starting out as a musician in Toronto – I’m talking pre-Tradewinds here – in a little nightclub on Yonge Street, there was a stunning blonde who was a regular patron of the place. She would come with the same fellow, very attentive to her, and why not – all male eyes in the place, and even some female ones, were turned onto this lady. As a new immigrant, seeing my first blonde up close, I was caught up, too. I’ve told the story before of
