PAVAROTTI'S GRANDMOTHER
Luciano Pavarotti, the famous opera star, almost missed his calling. As a young man, he taught elementary school and sang only occasionally. But several people made the difference for him. One was his grandmother who, when he was a boy, would hold him in her lap and say, "You're going to be great, you'll see." Another was his father, who encouraged him to devote more time to singing. Another was his voice teacher, who helped him to develop his great talent.
Pavarotti says, "If I hadn't listened to my father and dropped teaching, I would never be here. And yes, my teacher groomed me. But no teacher ever told me I would become famous. Just my grandmother."
(Glenn Plaskin, Turning Point. From a sermon by Ed Sasnett, Friends, 8/11/2011)