A lifetime or two ago, when I worked for a start-up with lots of young employees, I was walking along the street talking to a (younger) friend about his girlfriend. Now, you have to understand that this friend was a tall, blond, gorgeous and charming guy, with a pure heart, who everyone loved. He was very intelligent and humble and nice to your mother when she was in town.
By way of describing his girlfriend he said,
“You know how, in every couple , there’s one person who’s the one who’s really great and the other one’s kind of the weak one?”
Um, not really but ‘okay’.
He paused, grinned, and looked at me,
“I’m the weak one.”
“Wow,” I said, thinking she must be something special.
When the company transferred him to London, she followed him and, within 24 hours (with jet-lag, mind you), had walked into a music venue in London and set her self up a gig to perform her songs the next night.
They came back to the States, and he married her. Their wedding featured music she had written, a special bridal march composed and performed by her aunt, and a fantastic rendition of “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” by one of her friends.
She went off to study playwriting at one of those Ivy League universities (having already had one musical produced professionally during her undergraduate years at another Ivy League place) and he followed her and I kind of lost touch with them.
Then, checking on her website, as I occasionally do, I just discovered that her latest musical (she wrote the book), has recently..
won the 2008 Tony for Best New Musical!
….
I’m a little bit speechless.
She has that ‘drive’ think of which I have heard tell. It seems to be important.
Uh-yup.