Deckman asked me to start this thread, as he is busy building decks.
When he was a kid, someone told him that he couldn't sing. He wondered if there are any other Mudcatters who experienced the same thing.

No one ever told me I couldn't sing (although I was told there were other things that I'd never be able to do, that I did.) But, a good friend of mine who is a very revered folk singer and songwriter with many albums to his credit was told the same thing when he was a kid.
The choir director asked him just to mouth the words, because he couldn't sing, and never would be able to.

My oldest son was told by his third grade teacher that he would never be able to write legibly, and that he might as well get used to using a typewriter. By the time he was in 5th or 6th grade, his penmanship was better than the teacher's.

There's a moral here... don't ever let anyone else tell you that you can't do something, whether it's singing, going to school, learning to play an instrument, or anything else. Thank them for their advice, and express your sympathy for their lack of vision, and go ahead and try it.

I had a roommate in college who really wanted to learn to play guitar.
And sing. Problem was, he not only couldn't hit a note, he couldn't even graze it. He asked me if I thought it was stupid for him to learn guitar and sing, recognizing that he was a terrible singer. I told him that if he enjoyed doing it, to go ahead, and just do it for his own enjoyment. The bible says "make a joyful noise unto the Lord." There was no mention of being able to sing well... just sing with joy.

I was thinking of calling this thread... "Oh yeah!, who sez!" Feel free to share any experiences you've had when people told you you'd never be able to do something, and you proved them wrong..

Deckman and I would love to hear your story (and he'll elaborate on his on a rainy day when he can't be building decks..)

Jerry