two off topics.............. Off- being operative.

[David Andersen]

Yup. Spot on. Great post.
DA

On Feb 22, 2008, at 6:44 PM, Farrell wrote:

> Thanks for sharing Les. Very interesting. I do however disagree  
> with you on one point: All that you posted is entirely ON-topic!
>
> Terry Farrell
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Leslie Bartlett
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 9:28 PM
> Subject: two off topics.............. Off- being operative.
>
> There is no legitimate reason to continue the Guild.  I met a man  
> from a place here locally "Everything piano".  Old pickup pulling a  
> trailer. He does "everything", is not associated with the Guild.    
> I asked him "What do you do when you don't know something and need  
> help?"     His response, "WHAT IS IT I DON'T KNOW?" So obviously  
> someone knows it all!  Thus if we simply learn from the one who  
> knows it all…………………………………………… Truly scary.
>
>
> I had a lovely experience today, sort of.  If any tuning of a 100  
> year old piano can be a good experience, I had one………..   I groaned  
> out loud when I saw it- lovely case…….. you know the kind.  Inside  
> the hammers were all filed very nicely over the entire surface.  
> AHA, another piece of junk on which these suckers put good money  
> and have nothing in return…………..  Well, not quite so. All original  
> stuff, cracks all over the place, and obviously an old piano which  
> probably should be trashed, but it had been worked on by one Dan  
> McElrath in Anchorage, Alaska.  The guy had done a fair amount of  
> work, even to replacing the let-off button felts, but nothing  
> frivolous.  Pins were awfully loose, but would hold a tune. The  
> piano was actually a couple cents sharp, but close throughout  
> except in the very top.  The more I sat, the more impressed I  
> became that whoever this guy was, he was honest, caring, and  
> judicious in what he did. I asked for his address. They had no  
> address, but did have his phone number and called him, then put me  
> on the phone.   I simply complimented him on carefully selecting  
> what he chose to do and not do, seemingly trying to make something  
> useable, actually useable without claiming it was more than it  
> was,  but bringing out the best which could be reasonably done to  
> an old upright.  He told the piano owner that he seldom got calls  
> from people wanting to thank him for good work- this made his whole  
> day.………………….     It's such an easy thing, easily forgotten, to  
> acknowledge another's good work, and lift their spirits.  It's  
> something we all can do, and in so doing might be working miracles,  
> not knowing of course what we're really contributing, except our  
> little piece of praise for something we see done well. But it  
> certainly makes a big difference to people who work week after  
> week, year after year, often with little real thanks.    Just  
> wanted to share something we know- it's a very easy thing to take a  
> moment to appreciate a fellow technician or any person who simply  
> has done the quality of work we would like to see offered us, it  
> always pays richly to do so.
>
> les bartlett
> houston
>

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