Baba WaWa and Other Important Voices

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HOMtOzoVM8 - (Barbara Walters on Gilda Radner's Baba Wawa Impression)

I recently finished reading Barbara Walter's autobiography, Audition; yes, I read all 600 pages and savored each page. It is a mix of popular and political history, a mix of the personal and the persona. It is about family and friendships, fortunes made and fortunes lost, and, of course, about the interviews of the famous and the infamous.

One of the couples that she mentioned who were among her favorite interviewees was not Brad and Angelina, but it was a couple whose names I don't remember (though, of course, Walters did.) What is memorable about them is that they are both blind and deaf. They are a successful couple that raised successful grown children. Nevertheless, the husband said that while losing his vision took away "scenes", it was losing his hearing that took away "people."

We often take for granted the subtle nuances of voices that cause us a shift of perspective, or a confidence and renewal in our relationships. A voice can endear someone to us. We are proud of the quiet one who, at last, asserts herself in a clear and confident voice. We wrap our hopes around the leader who, at last, shares her fear and uncertainty. We share and hold dear the whimper of regret and plea for forgiveness after a moment of disagreement with a loved one.

On the other hand, we question the future of a new friendship when we hear a groan of resentment or a slap of sarcasm. We listen more closely to know whether or not we want to hear still more. We note the pretentiousness of a lie and the squeamishness of deceit.

Remember that it was Barbara Walters who wrote the book "How to Talk to Practically Anybody About Practically Anything." Although I have admired her for a long time, I think she titled that book incorrectly. I think that what she could teach us and what we all need to improve is "How to Listen to Practically Anybody About Practically Anything."

Let's add a subtitle as well. "... And to appreciate it."