Those who can't, teach.

I think that there are two classes of people: those who are naturally talented at something and those who work really hard to develop a skill. It does seem unfair that some people in the world have no talents and some get multiple talents. And even without any natural talent, it's not for lack of effort on my side that none have developed in me. Here are things in which I've tried to cultivate talents:

1. I played Clarinet for 4 years and I can read music. hmm..helpful. I even suffered through marching band for a year.
2. I took art and journalism in high school.
3. I took ballet growing up and dance and worship (thank you Will Duffy) in college.
4. I've taken a few horseback riding lessons and piano lessons.
5. I've played a number of sports: tennis, basketball, track.
6. I've studied literature and tried my hand at writing.
7. I own a camera.
8. I own a bike.
9. I've played kickball and ultimate frisbee.

Despite that impressive listing, I have no talent in any area I've tried. Even with hard work, the artwork is appalling, the poetry is cheesy, the singing is off-key, and the sports attempts are mediocre, if that. (That might be an exaggeration - I won one tennis match in 4 years of playing and my best mile time is 7:11).

Here are talents I've decided I might qualify for:
1. Being the smartest person in the '99 class of West Davidson High School
2. Getting up at 5 am
3. Enjoying beer
4. Doing ridiculous dances dealing with the wearing of pajama pants or sports teams
5. "NERTS, kiss my ass"

Here are Denali's talents:
1. Being the best dog at 627 Brighton for peeing on the gravel walkway to avoid getting her feet wet in the grass
2. Getting up on the furniture while we're gone
3. Enjoying barking
4. Doing ridiculous things like running her underbite into your knee cap
5. Sniffing asses

Oh, and the good news, we just joined a kickball league.