Who Do You Admire?

Around 1995 or 6, I was living in a southern East Coast community that was big on golf and tennis.  I am a tennis player, but not a golfer.  One day, the folks on the tennis court were talking about someone named "Tiger Woods".  At first I thought it was a new line of drivers.  But it became apparent they were talking about a golfer and I innocently asked "Who is Tiger Woods?"  The reply from one particularly enthusiastic fellow was (this is true): "You don't know who Tiger Woods is?!?  Only the greatest human being that ever lived!"  Hmmm.  I'm long out of touch with those people now, but I find myself wondering if this is still his exact opinion on the subject.

One of my great heroes died last week.  Jaime Escalante is the teacher that took some of the poorest kids with discipline problems in an LA school and got them fired up about Mathematics.  Working with them long hours after school, on vacations, etc., he got about 20 of them to pass the Advanced Placement calculus exam in 1982, an almost unprecedented number even for an elite school.  He worked against opposition from his peers, who thought these kids were "unteachable".  He even had to fight the college board organization who thought the kids must have cheated.  They had to re-take the test under the supervision of the agency and they passed again, after which Jaime insisted the original scores be reinstated.  The story is so inspiring, the movie "Stand And Deliver", starring Edward James Olmos, was made in 1988 and you should absolutely see it if you haven't already.

I mentioned in my last blog that one of my goals is to improve the world, leave it better than I found it.  I find myself naturally gravitating toward people like Jaime who work steadily against the tide of everyday society, often with little or no pay and no expectation of fame, to truly accomplish a worthwhile goal.  He was not part of a large abstract "cause", he was doing what he knew how to do in his local environment to make a difference.

I am not terribly interested in high-profile, wealthy, self-centered individuals who may excel in one narrow area of endeavor, but often do so at the cost of tearing apart the lives of people immediately around them.  They stir up a lot of excitement, and excitement sells.  But the real business of improving the world is only accomplished at the boring, daily, personal level where it takes persistence over a period of time to make things happen.  Real progress is not exciting and does not involve large sums of money, which is why far fewer people are willing to do it.

I promised to tell you about the name of my blog.  I am an actor and have played many stage roles, but the ones I am best remembered for are Ben Franklin in the musical 1776 and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.  At first glance, these characters are very different.  Ben is sophisticated and intellectual while Tevye is emotional and rooted in his very small village society.  But what they had in common was a passion to see the right thing done and improve the world around them using the skills and methods they possessed.  Although you will hear me talk about how emotionalism has overrun reason in our current environment, you should not assume I am not a very emotional person.  Actually, the opposite is true.  It's just that each has its place and both can be used for broader, more selfless goals rather than just self-gratification.  The name of this blog reflects my own duality and my hope that others can recognize each aspect for how they affect their own lives.