GG dropping Kazdin

[ptaussig@bcn.net (peter taussig)]

Further to the Kazdin book thread Mary Jo writes:
>The only thing the book "proved" to me about GG's character, is that
>he wasn't the sort of person you'd invest your emotional needs with.

I think Mary Jo is right on the money regarding GG's inability to handle
emotional situations. What would you expect from a guy whose main reason
for quitting the concert stage was his inability to handle the charged
emotional atmosphere that a concert represents, or for that matter someone
who would hang up on you if you sneezed on the phone for fear he'll get a
cold?
The problem was not with Gould as much as with the people hanging on his
coat tails (Kazdin included), who somehow expected to be treated
differently just because they were part of the inner circle.
I remember a good friend of mine and a colleague of Gould who fell madly in
love with him, and being a fine musician with similar interests had no
difficulty spending a lot of time with him. She would call me up every
morning giving me a reprt of what to me seemed totally innocent encounters
but in her mind they were all clear indications of Gould's infatuation with
her, all leading to some romantic climax. She was crushed when after
several months of this Gould just dropped her, requesting in a terse
telephone message that she never contact him again. No explanations, no
emotional scenes.

I always accepted Glenn as someone who marched to a very different drum
beat than most of us. The rules were clear, clear to him, and pretty clear
to anyone who was willing to accept the message. One of these rules seemed
to be: "Don't get too close", another was: "No one can claim any part of
me".
I suppose Kazdin fell prey to the illusion that these rules did not apply
to him. The greatest pain for him must have been the realization that after
all those years he knew Glenn so little.
Peter Taussig

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