LORAN SMITH: The poetry of dealing with pride

Pride, properly managed, is a good thing. You want your kids to take pride in their homework, their appearance and their relationships. Good sense, good habits and good judgment are wonderful companions.

The world is full of big egos. I have heard people offer the notion that if you want success, you want to see someone with drive who can take charge, then you can expect to deal with a large ego. Consider the generals, Dwight D. Eisenhower and George Patton. It is easy to see that the bombastic Patton was ego driven. Most of us would not consider that Ike had an ego. Let’s say Ike’s ego was as big as Patton’s — then the conclusion is that he managed it far better than his contemporary.

People who reside in high places from the military to business to sports often think a lot of themselves. How ‘bout the movie stars who get stopped by a cop, became incensed and hurl that epithet, “Do you know who I am?” Such arrogance. That is a reminder of the story of the young teenage girl who happened to be the daughter of the mayor — and was stopped by an officer for speeding. Before the officer could begin writing the ticket, she became annoyed and demanded of him, “Do you know who my daddy is?” The officer replied, “No. You are going to have to ask your mother.” When it comes to sports, you always remember what Dizzy Dean once said: “If you done it, it ain’t bragging.”

If you measure coaching egos, who do you think has the biggest — Mark Richt or Nick Saban? Arrogance in athletics is quite widespread these days. If you are honest, you conclude there is no way that is a latent circumstance. It is a natural human trait that when you are sitting at the top of the world, to look down on the rest of mankind and exclaim to oneself, “Hey look at me.”

I remember a conversation with a senior vice president at the University of Georgia who had a problem with a department head who called and ripped into a secretary who had nothing to do with the department head’s request which was not being addressed.

The VP found the way to penalize the department head for his ill advised outburst and lectured him with this this admonishment. “The higher you rise, the more humble you should be.” That is why the biggest coward’s in our society are those who abuse women and children. How could any man backhand a wife or a child? Not just the physical, the emotional as well.

Early in my college career, I learned that the celebrated poet Robert Frost would be speaking on a certain date at the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Georgia campus. Mr. Frost was a friend of Hugh Hodgson, for whom a concert hall on South campus is named.

Going to hear Robert Frost read poetry sounded like something that any college student should do. After all, if Ted Williams had shown up at the batting cage at the baseball field, I wouldn’t want to miss such a grand opportunity to see him hit. Long ago, I have considered one of the greatest evils of sports is that so many Superstars are very shallow—unfortunately by choice. Seems to me that a gifted athlete can turn the double play and still enjoy a night at the opera.

Hearing Robert Frost read his poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” is an enduring highlight of my campus days. Many years later, I learned about an interesting vignette in Frost’s life. A writer for the late Saturday Evening Post, met with the poet and wrote a long, bonus piece about Frost’s life and career. It took some doing to get the renowned American poet to submit for a lengthy interview. After the story was published, Frost, being the gentleman that he was, wrote the writer a nice thank you note.

He signed off by saying, “I didn’t read all of your story. I got tired of myself.”