Blog Posts - trish hermanson

Dumb Luck or Incredible Skill?

2/14/2019

Was it incredible skill or simply dumb luck that someone tossed these sneakers onto a power line in my neighborhood? Dumb luck, I think. Contrary to that, my accomplishments come the hard way - repetitive practice.
     That’s what a young musician, violin case in hand, learned when he got lost while visiting New York City. He asked an old man, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The man waggled his index finger at him. “Practice. Practice.”
     How much practice? Author Malcolm Gladwell says it takes ten thousand hours to become accomplished in something. Take, for example, the artist Pablo Picasso. Legend has it that he was sketching in a park when a woman recognized him and insisted he draw her portrait. After studying her a moment, he drew her likeness with a single pencil stroke. She was thrilled with it and asked his price. “Five thousand dollars,” Picasso said.
     “But it took you only a second to draw this.”
     “Madame,” the artist replied, “it took my entire life.”
     All this could be discouraging, because few of us can carve out ten thousand hours to develop an expertise. Yet I’m amazed by my friends who develop impressive abilities simply by pursuing their interests.They’ve become experts in grilling, gardening, quilting, crafting, woodworking, hosting, leading meetings, socializing, and extending kindness to others. Their examples encourage me that it’s never too late to develop a skill - if I’m willing to practice, practice.
  Because mastery doesn’t happen with dumb luck.

Honestly, Abe Was Depressed

2/8/2019

If he lived today, Lincoln would not be known as Honest Abe, but as Depressed Abe. He suffered so severely that sometimes he fell into an unresponsive, catatonic stupor even in public.
      Lincoln certainly weathered events that warranted despondency: lost elections, the death of a child, a fractured marriage, and a fractured nation. But his gloom was so deep that today he would probably be classified as genetically or biologically depressed.
     How did he survive? Lincoln found some relief by telling jokes, reading poetry, and gaining perspective through scripture, according to Joshua Wolf Shenk. In “Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness,” Shenk says the president’s misery actually shaped his character so he could carry our nation through its Uncivil War.
     We all face depression at times. Some find help from medicine. Others of us turn to activities such as walks, music, and friendship. When we can’t shed our sadness, we can take heart in what first century teacher Paul of Tarsus learned, that suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope when we realize that our troubles aren’t in vain. It’s amazing: as we lean on God, he recycles the bad into something good.
  Honestly, that can help us weather our worst Uncivil Wars.

The Tragedy of Losing Yourself

2/1/2019

The moment after I told my friend Jan to smile for the camera, I showed her the photo.
     “Who’s that?” she asked.
     “It’s you,” I said.
     “Really?”
     Jan didn’t know who she was anymore. I pointed to a photo on her wall. “That’s where you taught school in the Philippines.”
     “Me?”
     “Then when you returned you volunteered as a hospice chaplain.”
     “You sure?”
     I’m sure. I’ve known Jan for years, always observing her gentle ways. Once when we were out to eat, she picked up the tab for another woman who was hard-pressed for cash, while Jan wasn’t flush either.
She had wit. In her sixties, she attended a rock concert with younger women, wearing a fake nose ring just for fun. When little confusions set in, friends brought in food, made sure her bills were paid, and hired help for housework. Then that awful time came, and we cleaned out her home.
     First it was assisted living. Then memory care, a cruel name because Jan had no memory to care for. When I visited, we’d sing, but she couldn’t remember the familiar words to “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Yet I knew Jan was still there, like a fragile caterpillar trapped in a dark cocoon.
     Then it happened - the butterfly broke out of its shell and took wing. Jan slipped through the thin veil separating this world from the next. Now she knows herself better than ever and grasps what a friend she has in Jesus.
That's a great rescue to look forward to.

You, Too, Can Kazoo!!

1/25/2019

Our country desperately needs some levity these days, so let me encourage you to rush out to a music store and pick up a kazoo to celebrate National Kazoo Day on January 28. Then if you can hum the semblance of a tune, you can jam on this nifty little American instrument that’s been around since the 1840s.
     If you can’t buy one by the 28th, no worries, because the date for celebrating occurs anytime near the end of January - whenever it’s convenient for kazoodaphiles. “We have to be flexible,” explains Chaplain Willard Rahn, founder of the Joyful Noise Kazoo Band at Homewood Retirement Center in Williamsport, Maryland.
     And if you’re a closet kazooist, now’s the time to fling open the doors and form a kazoophony. Embellish your music with this distinctive instrument as did Eric Clapton (“San Francisco Bay Blues”), Pink Floyd (“Corporal Clegg”), and Dionne Warwick (“This Girl’s in Love with You”).
  For a hilarious history from hardcore kazoologists, visit here.
    Happy kazooing!

Unhappy Anniversary to Us

1/21/2019

Unhappy anniversary to us. This year marks four centuries since the first African Americans arrived (unwillingly) on our shores. We acted no more neighborly toward Native Americans, corralling tribes so we could take their land. Then in World War II, we incarcerated Japanese Americans but didn’t intern German Americans. Why? Maybe because “they” didn’t look like “us” who are lily white?
     The recent wave of immigrants challenges us again. In the past we welcomed needy Europeans, who became the grandparents and great-grandparents of the majority of us. Yet now we don’t embrace needy Latin Americans, sometimes calling them crooks and social sponges, even though statistics reveal that in general, immigrants have been more law-abiding than native-born citizens and have actually boosted our economy.
     Perhaps it’s time to heed the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr.; Instead of building a wall to hold back a flood of humanity, we could “build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” Maybe then we’d understand more clearly how to make good immigration decisions.
     We’re embarrassed about how our ancestors treated various people throughout our country’s history, and I wonder whether our descendants will be shocked about how we treated Twenty-first Century Latin Americans. Will they have reason to call us racist because of what we did - or did not - do?
***
Photo from the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

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