Re: More comments on Kazdin

[KImmoor@aol.com]

   I agree. From the "20 question routine", to the pop quizzes and random
lectures he would foist on the unwary companion, there is no question that GG
was not above showing off whenever he had the opportunity. Kazdin is quite
plain about Glenn having randomly taunted him by spontaneously demanding that
Andy sing the opening bars to various classical compositions to see if Kaz
coulds make pitch. (Of course he could not, but to decline GG would have been
an immediate concession in the battle of wit.) But again, it is almost as if
Kaz (who I think too readily accepted the toady role) is puzzled by Gould's
abnormal or clumsy socialization - surely he must have known what to expect
after a few years? I think on one hand, no one wants to admit that their
idols might not be the charming humans that one would want them to be, and on
the other, as E. Selig mentioned, when you adore someone so openly and give
so much of your life to them, you find it hard to believe the idea that they
might not feel the same. Surely Kaz must have felt that he had been played,
and I can sympathise with him for that, but I can't believe that he did not
see it coming. For Kaz to say in no uncertain terms that he had watched Gould
repeatedly and systematically find ways to sever friendships, weave intricate
lies to avoid certain acquaintances, and cloak himself and his life in
impenetrable secrecy; how could Kaz then believe that *his* friendship with G
was the exception to the pattern behavior?It just seems naive.
   On a semi-related tangent, I find the roles of Bert and Florence Gould in
young Glenn's life to be intriguing; I have to wonder if, amongst the music
lessons and competition, there was any talk of the importance of humility,
compromise, or congeniality. GG was not actively socialized in childhood,
spending a minimal amount of time in school activity. His few and unpleasant
encounters with schoolmates most likely meant he felt little influence from
the children his age, never went through the rites of passage that are
usually involved in growing up. Many biographers speak of GG as having been
childlike in various ways, I wonder how accurate that representation really
is.