I sincerely think that genius in any endeavor is just logical thought with some sort of time compression factor applied... I could come up with revolutionary theories on the nature of the physical universe, like Einstein did, if I were so inclined....it would just take me a thousand years to do it.

I had a music teacher in high school who qualifies. He is primarily responsible for my *formal* interest in music today, and were it not for him the four years I spent in secondary education would probably have been a total waste of time. I can't recall anything else of value to me today that I learned there.

He was a relentless and demanding bastard, and while under his tutelage my feelings for him bordered on resentment and strong dislike. He was arrogant and vain, belittleling and chastising. But he had the uncanny ability to draw out of his students what his students didn't realize they had within them; to inspire them to push themselves successfully beyond their own limits. He was also one helluva musician. In spite of myself and my dearth of natural ability and talent, I spent hours and hours practicing particularly difficult passages of music just for an almost imperceptible nod of approval from him. He is probably the reason I had no social life in school. More importantly, he taught me that I was not confined to the arbitrary limits I had imposed on myself, that no one could set those limits for me without my willing participation, that I could extend beyond those limits if I so desired badly enough, that there were no limits. He taught me to believe in myself. Although he wasn't demonstrative by any stretch of the imagination, when you performed to his demanding expectations you knew he truly loved you.

He died in a supper club fire, where he was the leader of the house band. I was told he went back in to help other people out to safety- showing the way even at the end. I wish he were still alive so he could read this post.

Regards, Neil (a little remroseful at the moment)