“Lightness” featured a very good metaphorical image from Calvino – one of the easier ones to understand, while still being profound. From Ovid’s Metamorphoses, he de gave the example of Perseus who shows lightness in dealing with Medusa, the Gorgon. He can only gaze upon her indirectly, reflected off his shield. Later, he is able to cut off her head, but again must exercise caution. Calvino draws out the elements of both lightness and weight in this story: the idea of turning to stone is certainly a metaphor for becoming bogged down, especially due to carelessness, and Perseus is the hero because he is able to balance his immense strength with lightness, when necessary.
It is this balance between these two opposites of strength and lightness that is most vital to understanding the concept of this “memo.”
If one wished to make a baseball star into his or her hero, it wouldn’t entirely appropriate if that hero were Albert Pujols. He stands 6’3” and weighs over 230 pounds – both conservative estimates – yet is known for his agility as much as his strength. Year-in and year-out, he’s a good bet to lead the league in Home Runs, arguably the most strength-related achievement in all of sports.
In 2006, he won a Gold Glove – the honor for best fielding at each position. Every year he has played, though, he’s been considered one of the best, quickest, and most agile first-basemen. Typically, throughout baseball history, you’re either a slugger or you’re a fielder – to do both well wasn’t even expected. Perseus is the Hercules of his stories – the one everyone counts on for bravery and physical might. One might expect even his most ardent admirers to suggest that someone else be tasked with the delicate duty of transporting the Gorgon’s head, but clearly Perseus, Calvino’s emblem of lightness, is quite capable.
To extract a single image from the Albert-Pujols-as-Lightness idea, consider this enormous man, fully extending himself to corral a sharply hit ground ball. He has left his feet, his dive places him parallel to the ground. This exertion of physical strength and quickness is happening simultaneously with the fine motor (and reflexive) skill of positioning his glove in place to trap the ball. His next move is equally important: he needs to either personally get the ball to first base, or throw it to a teammate, otherwise the diving stop is meaningless. As easily as a man half his size, Pujols is able to make this play. It cannot be forgotten that these actions are being carried out by the physical frame of a Home Run slugger. Surely, this is an emblem of the perfect balance between strength and lightness.
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