In this book, you may discover the song you came to sing among the 600-plus quotations from people who have found their songs. Look for your favorite Originals from the worlds of music, art, sports, writing, and science. And don’t miss the bubbleologist, architect, hot dog vendor, NYC bicycle messenger, shoe Salesman of the Year, and breathing instructor.
A bunch of folks — just like you —
tell how they discovered their tunes
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Are you following your plan or one designed by someone else?
Are you a lawyer who would rather play shortstop on a baseball team, drum with a jazz band, or study the ocean?
Are you an accountant who would be happier plucking a ukulele, kicking a football, or roaming the art museums of Europe?
Did you follow the directions of a teacher and become a doctor when you’d rather be emoting or tap dancing on a Broadway stage, or teaching kids to bake cakes?
Were you guided by a parent to accept a secretarial job as backup, “in case your dream didn’t happen”?
The 600+ people quoted in this book have discovered their songs and share them with you. This is a book for perusing, flipping pages until something — or someone — catches your attention. Who knows, you could be guided to discover your own song!
Excerpt
James Anthony (Jim) Abbott, athlete, Yankee pitcherAt 45: I never remember not being interested in sports…. I was doing something that I loved to do. That’s what I would like to encourage people to do. Find something in this world and don’t let anybody ever change your opinion that you can do it.”
Pierre Cardin, French designer, magazine publisher, translator
At 90: “I make so many things in my life. When I was finished with one thing, very well, I start some other thing. I don’t like to stop. I like to continually prove myself. I’m a gambler, you know…. It’s extraordinary life. Yes. Voila!”
Terry Chase, Ozark MO artist, scientist, collector of natural history artifacts
At 64: “I’m suddenly realizing… I’m doing the same thing today that I was doing in grade school… my passion to make everything as perfect as I can possibly make it.”
Kevin Clash, Sesame Street puppeteer (Elmo)
At 52: “If everybody else your age is doing something very different than what you’re doing, there’s always going to be someone saying to you: ‘You might not succeed with it. You might not make any money with that. There’s always going to be some type of obstacle in the way.’ All those things will go away if you focus on what makes you happy.”
Cindy Crawford, model
At 46: “I’m a normal woman… I have good days and bad days. I liked the way my skin looked, my body looked, but at the same time I love my life, and I think of you’re happy in your life, it’s easier to take.”
David Edelstein, film critic
At 53: “This is when I talk about gifted people as if they’re hustling politicos instead of artists, whose work teaches us to make imaginative leaps without which we’d be coarse, unreflective, unaffective, tragically unaware.”
Zachary David Alexander (Zac) Efron, actor, singer
At 25: “Stepping into the world of theater, I knew I had found something special. I felt engaged. I was nervous. Every single day. I was stepping outside of my comfort zone… oh man, it was a rush! The actors I respect today are the ones who always took the hard road.”
Jules Feiffer, syndicated cartoonist — See Norton Juster
Jane Goodall, British anthropologist studying primates
At 78: “I believe in young people living their dreams. I was just 10 when I decided I wanted to go to Africa, live among animals, and write books about them. I was 26 when my dream came true.”
Sanjay Gupta, MD, neurosurgeon
At 43: “For me, the critical question is: how do we as a profession avoid repeating in the future what we’ve done wrong in the past. Learning from mistakes means admitting to them first.”
J. Joy Hellai, movie makeup artist
“I’m a child of the Saturday-and-Sunday double-double features, so getting to work in the movies is a dream come true.”
Iman, Somali-American fashion model, business entrepreneur
At 56: “I am so far more secure and more grounded and more know who I am than when I was in my 20s. And that you can get it, but only age can give you this.”
Davy Jones (1946-2012) British singer, actor.
At 47: “We weren’t just four guys who couldn’t sing and play and couldn’t act; we could do a little bit of each… and together we combined and made The Monkees.”
Norton Juster (at 82), architect, author, children’s books with Jules Feiffer (at 83), cartoonist, playwright
Feiffer: This is why you do these things. You want to make a connection between yourself and some anonymous readers out there who you will be important to and who are important to you in consequence.
Norton: People can read into it (The Phantom Toll Booth) what they like, and with my delight and my blessing.”
Mike Love, founding member of The Beach Boys, at the 50th reunion.
At 70: “The point is, you can let the past screw with your head for a lifetime, or you can say, ‘All we have is right now’.”
Patty Malone, Dublin, Ireland gospel singer with The Chieftans.
At 73: “I wanted to spread the gospel about the great folk art and that, for me, is exactly what happened. That dream came true for me. I’ve a lot to do yet, if the Lord spares me.
Eric McCormack, Canadian actor.
At 48: “I saw ‘Othello’, with Christopher Plummer and James Earl Jones, and I was hung over; I was 18 and I was here and all excited… but I remember kinda blurry-eyed just being amazed.”
Alan Menken, Oscar winning songwriter for films and stage.
At 62: “Honestly, the best award is going to the first day of rehearsal and everybody’s there and they’re excited, and there’s a joy and you’ve created something that is real. Infectious, amazing.”
P. Stephan Potter, lawyer, The Hot Dog Man at U. of Nebraska Stadium (1964-2000)
At 40?: “You take the hot dog and you have to throw it so it spins end over end.
At 75: “It is so important that you don’t start taking yourself too seriously.”
Lawrence Schiller, photographer, author Marilyn and Me.
At 75: “How do you tell a story in one image? How do you tell the whole story?
Blair Underwood, actor, producer, writer (film, TV, stage)
At 47: “I’m just a firm believer: you gotta go for it and let the chips fall where they may. I’m nervous and I’m scared, and I’ve never been more excited in my life (on beginning his first stage role). The stage is where we get a chance, from the time the curtain goes up until the curtain comes down, to do what we do.”
Mike Wallace, CBS newsman on TV’s “60 Minutes” (1918-2012)
At 71: “If you have a conviction, you have to stand your ground. And that’s when the blood hits the floor. It really does.”
At 93: “It’s astonishing what you learn and see and feel along the way. That’s why a reporter’s job, you know, is such a job.”
Note: Since my husband's cancer surgery 4/25/05, this book content has been integrated into the public speaking content for audiences interested in a sassy approach to personal and/or community awareness events. Another chapbook on intimate love poet
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