Mary Pastorius article on her dad 1994

[JacoLesFlea]

Very interesting...and sad.

http://www.jacopastorius.com/feature...ings/daddy.asp

[SirCanealot]

Very interesting... and very moving as well

I recently went through a pretty minor bout of depression for a couple of days (girl troubles ), and it's really made me better apriciate people with worse problems, and it's made me look to the good things in life.

But, yeah. Such is life. Best to pick yourself up, forget the bad times, smile about the good times. Seems like what she's trying to do

[JacoLesFlea]

My sister has bi-polar and she has gone thru some episodes that put her in the hospital the most recent the begining of this year I help her with her 12 and 14 year old daughters...I am like there surogate father...Long story but I am glad I am there for them. Ok back to Mary Pastorious...

http://www.jacopastorius.com/links/d....queen-mary.cc


I guess she has a myspace page but then again who doesent.....I wonder if her bass player is thinking Jaco when he is playing.

[unbasslichkeit]

I first read this in 2001, right after my daughter was born. Made a hell of an impression to say the least, and good to read it again.

I'm not sure how to say this without sounding harsh, but a man can get away with an awful lot in this world and still be Daddy to someone. What a gift.

[tZer]

For me, as much as I am probably guilty of the "Jaco as a thing, not a person" syndrome that she describes, it really brought him right back down to earth and humanity. I have the DVD of Jaco talking with Jerry Jemot - amazingly great DVD, by the way, but I feel rather guilty, especially now. As I watched that DVD and as I have been reading about Jaco I have been getting the impression that he was really arrogant and quite full of himself. This is an unappealing quality in any person, but when it is a person you want so badly to put up on a pedestal, have them be perfect in every way, and worship them, recognizing less-than-flattering and all-to-human characteristic about them is sort of a let down. Poor me, huh?

Hence my guilt. I am ashamed of the pettiness in my perception. How unimportant and judgmental my feelings about his so-called arrogance are.

Of course, when I read more about how Jaco was clearly sick and ultimately was killed because he was so sick, I felt that explained a bit about his arrogance and other 'off traits' - hey, he was sick, right? But still, I was off point. Hey, I still thought and still do think his music is second-to-none, but I am really bummed realizing how easily I spun into all those other unimportant areas.

But now that I am a father of a beautiful, precocious little girl and a vigorous, gregarious little boy, reading Mary Pastorious' story about herself and her daddy broke my heart to pieces. No longer is Jaco this amazing bass god to me, he is now a just father that did not get a chance to watch his little girl grow up. And she is a little girl who, like all little girls, loved her daddy and misses him very much. All the rest is really unimportant. The bass playing, the acting out, the perceived arrogance... irrelevant.

I could not help but hear my own little girl's voice in her writing. I could not help but become all too aware of what she was saying. The time we have with our children/parents is without question, the most valuable and irreplaceable time there is. It does not matter if you are the most gifted bass player in the world.

Man, what a story.

I am still a Jaco fan - but boy do I have a whole new set of eyes and ears to experience him with now.

[The_D]

My wee brother was commited to a Psychiatric hosp a few months back and it is prolly the best thing for him. Probably would have done Jaco some good too.

[Sundogue]

Originally Posted by tZer

For me, as much as I am probably guilty of the "Jaco as a thing, not a person" syndrome that she describes, it really brought him right back down to earth and humanity. I have the DVD of Jaco talking with Jerry Jemot - amazingly great DVD, by the way, but I feel rather guilty, especially now. As I watched that DVD and as I have been reading about Jaco I have been getting the impression that he was really arrogant and quite full of himself. This is an unappealing quality in any person, but when it is a person you want so badly to put up on a pedestal, have them be perfect in every way, and worship them, recognizing less-than-flattering and all-to-human characteristic about them is sort of a let down. Poor me, huh?

Hence my guilt. I am ashamed of the pettiness in my perception. How unimportant and judgmental my feelings about his so-called arrogance are.

Of course, when I read more about how Jaco was clearly sick and ultimately was killed because he was so sick, I felt that explained a bit about his arrogance and other 'off traits' - hey, he was sick, right? But still, I was off point. Hey, I still thought and still do think his music is second-to-none, but I am really bummed realizing how easily I spun into all those other unimportant areas.

But now that I am a father of a beautiful, precocious little girl and a vigorous, gregarious little boy, reading Mary Pastorious' story about herself and her daddy broke my heart to pieces. No longer is Jaco this amazing bass god to me, he is now a just father that did not get a chance to watch his little girl grow up. And she is a little girl who, like all little girls, loved her daddy and misses him very much. All the rest is really unimportant. The bass playing, the acting out, the perceived arrogance... irrelevant.

I could not help but hear my own little girl's voice in her writing. I could not help but become all too aware of what she was saying. The time we have with our children/parents is without question, the most valuable and irreplaceable time there is. It does not matter if you are the most gifted bass player in the world.

Man, what a story.

I am still a Jaco fan - but boy do I have a whole new set of eyes and ears to experience him with now.

You sure nailed it...

I can't wait to get home from work now and pick my little baby girl up and give her an extra hug and kiss...and just hold her for a while.

The things we take for granted sometimes...

[tZer]

Sundogue - me too - only my little girl and boy - you know what I mean! LOL - Wifey too! It is so easy to get wrapped up in the pursuit of perfection, on the bass, at work, in a sport. You want perfection? Look at that little girl/boy - they are perfect! They count on US to help them stay as close to perfect as they can. And when they start to figure out that they are NOT perfect, they count on our example to let them know that it is ok - and actually THAT is the precise thing that makes us human.

NOT perfect is not the same as bad.

Of all the lessons I have picked up here, this is probably the most valuable.

Thanks to JacoLesFlea for posting it!

[Spector_Ray]

Although I think this has been posted before, it's always nice to read about the first hand experiences with Jaco. This one's special because he's simply daddy and not bass master/wizard Jaco.

[JacoLesFlea]

Originally Posted by tZer

Sundogue - me too - only my little girl and boy - you know what I mean! LOL - Wifey too! It is so easy to get wrapped up in the pursuit of perfection, on the bass, at work, in a sport. You want perfection? Look at that little girl/boy - they are perfect! They count on US to help them stay as close to perfect as they can. And when they start to figure out that they are NOT perfect, they count on our example to let them know that it is ok - and actually THAT is the precise thing that makes us human.

NOT perfect is not the same as bad.

Of all the lessons I have picked up here, this is probably the most valuable.

Thanks to JacoLesFlea for posting it!

You are very welcome, I am sure her story has opened alot of our eyes in some positve way or another. I know it has mine.