| A lone, humble man sat in the middle of a park, with only a pot, a spoon, some water, matches and a stone. He gathered the necessary items to build a fire from what he could find around the area.
He lit his fire, and placed the pot in the fire. Into the pot went the water and the stone. The townspeople watched, in curiosity, the odd goings-on in the park. Finally, someone had the courage to approach and ask, "What are you doing?" The man replied, simply, "Making Stone Soup". "Well, that doesn't sound very good," was the response from the resident. "How about adding some salt?" "I don't have any". "Well, I have some. If I bring it, and I add it, can I have some of your soup?" And so it went; beans, a hambone, savory spices; fresh garden vegetables, sausage pieces, until the soup was complete.
All the townspeople added ingredients to compliment each other's contribution. Someone baked a fine crusty bread, someone else brought bowls, another spoons, and another a ladle. The townspeople never had a better soup than the Stone Soup they ate that day.
This adaptation of a children's story seems to fit, and is to me, why Manny's forum is such a great place. Not to say that Manny or Wilmer only have the barest of essentials (please don't misnterpret me there; their reputations and experience is tremendous) but that each of us contributing something worthwhile will produce something extraordinary.
We need to reccognize, however, that with Manny's or Wilmer's stature, theirs is the final say. Unless we have studied with Vacchiano, or are a 30 year member of a major symphony, our words will not and should not compare. The articulation thread goings-on are, to me, awful, but Manny is handling it.
Manny posted on this a few months ago, quite eloquently. If someone wants to disagree with someone who has Manny or Wilmer's experience, they had better be able to back it up with equal or more experience. And not on their forum, but either in the cage or via a pm outof respect for the stature these individuals have earned.
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-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting |