Courtesy of Van Cliburn Foundation, via Associated Press Van Cliburn won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958.Dear Diary:
One of the residual scars from growing up in the ’50s and ’60s was the parental reproach, “Why can’t you be more like…â€
I have no doubt the comparison was well meaning, but often enough it had the opposite effect. Of course I resented the well-behaved older sister Geraldine!; be damned the straight-A’s (pimply faced) Michael Portnoy from down the block! But these weren’t the worst, no sir! My nemeses were Van Cliburn … and Joey Parsky.
I took no comfort at the news of the great pianist’s death (“…why can’t you play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 like Van Cliburnâ€). But he was always paired with that other do-gooder, Golden Boy, the dreaded Joey Parsky, who took his grandmother to temple, took the garbage out to the curb, and took prizes in debate and science.
I should tell you there’s no comeuppance for Joey Parsky, who went on to be an attorney, married, had nice kids and led, presumably, a very good life. He also, years later, won the Massachusetts State Lottery, which prompted my own grandmother, on her deathbed, to say, “Why can’t YOU do thatâ€
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