Bear or Lion?

Over the last I don't know how many years my buddy Mike and I have have had a semi-regular Sunday night music session. If one of us has a composition in some state of recordability, we work on that. Otherwise, we just play tunes, usually jazz standards. One Sunday a couple of years ago, it was a standards night, and I hopped into a cab with my archtop.

The driver, a Sikh in full beard and turban, immediately asked me about the guitar -- what kind was it? did I have a gig? what kind of music do I play? Happy to have a little interaction, I answered his questions. Then I asked him if he played, and he said he didn't but was very interested in guitar. Then he asked me one more question: who is the best guitarist, Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix? A Sikh from India, driving a cab in New York City in 2004 raising the great 70's high school guitar nerd debate. Only in New York.

I answered that it's not a competition; both had a lot to offer. The guy wouldn't accept it. He felt that one must be better than the other, but he hadn't been able to figure it out for himself. He was relying on me, as a clear expert in the field, to resolve this question for him. I tried putting it different ways -- it's a matter of taste; they both had their ups and downs; Jimi was a more innovative technician, but EC opened peoples ears up in other ways. Jimi was a more adventurous artist, but EC had a few masterpieces that hold up well in any comparison ...

He still wouldn't buy it. One had to be better than the other. I have to admit it, I don't completely buy it either. But that's because of my own inner OCD. I'm a bit obsessed with comparisons in general, and have debates like this running through my head all the time. I'm also the sort of person who can see at least two sides to almost any question, so I never resolve anything.

My father had more than a bit of this streak in him. He would often replay the great debates of his youth, or compare stars from different eras. Patton vs. Rommel? DiMaggio vs. Williams? Ruth vs. Gherig? Ali vs. Marciano? Tilden vs. Laver? Bear vs Lion?

Dad, what do mean? Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions?
No, an actual bear vs. an actual lion.
A bear vs a lion.
Yup.
What kind of bear grizzly? Black? Panda?
C'mon. Be serious a panda's not a real bear. Black bears eat fruit. I'm talkin' Grizzly.
I say a lion - runs faster; king of the beasts; won't settle for berries or fish. Goes for the throat every time.
I say a bear -- much bigger and stronger can kill a deer with one swipe of the paw.
Yeah, but lions work as a team. They use strategy and superior numbers to knock out bigger prey. You ever hear of a pride of bears stalking a bison?
C'mon, a bear gets up on his hind legs, one, two, five, doesn't matter how many lions, they're all gonna turn tail and run.
And hide in the brush until the bear lets his guard down, then kick some ursine butt ...

After a few more rounds, of this, we'd face the disappointing truth. The bout would never happen. Bears live in Yellowstone. Lions live on the Serengetti. Anyway, they'd stay out of each others' way. A fight wouldn't be worth the trouble -- baby antelope are much easier targets. They'd probably go out for a beer and trade top predator tips.
Say, I like the way you attack the flank first and then leap at the jugular. Nice technique
Thanks. Pretty cool the way you snatch that Salmon out of mid-air -- you're pretty quick for a big guy. Play some ball in college?

That's kind of the way it worked out with Jimi and Eric, I suspect. Try telling that to a Sikh, though.