Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Another Brasswind Diary


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Posted by dp on July 15, 2001 at 14:55:03:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Another Brasswind Diary posted by t.k. on July 15, 2001 at 11:24:37:

When I had my first opportunity to buy a new tuba, I was a junior in high school and it was the fall of 1971. My band teacher (unbeknownst to me at the time) had been a tuba soloist in his army days, and for some reason he felt this 2-nd year tuba kid could use his very own tuba, to he offered to arrange a payment plan for me to get a Mirafone 186. Price in vietnam-era dollars, $600.

My dad nixed the idea, even though I was earning a buck an hour in his drycleaning plant working from 1 pm to 6 pm weekdays and all day saturdays. Why he was down on the idea I either do not remember or he didn't say, BUT it took me years and years to get over some wierd resentment about the world, "my" situation and not being able to somehow "get"
a tuba. Even after purchase of my first horn, a Cerveny-LaSete stencil from Norm Bartold for a grand and nearly a dozen years after that first tease-hope for a horn, I STILL had that wierd twist/perspective on how hard "it all" was.

Why this anecdotal blather? Because as far as I am concerned, if you have the means to pay your own rent, marry, and plan a future with your spouse, you CERTAINLY have the ability to swing a gig for a horn. It will take work, but that work is FAR easier than when you and wifey are fighting, or you get called in to work extra hours after you stayed out late the night before.

Do not begrudge the dealers of the world, they are not all out to "take" your (obviously)
HARD-earned money, and if YOU think you deserve respect or something special like "accomodation", simply because you have potential to buy, when thinking about your future purchase, try THAT SAME ATTITUDE towards the dealers you might someday do business with! But ... if you show a relative lack of respect for their property (which it IS until you actually buy it) why in the world would ANYone want to let you play with their property? (no flame, just reading your posts it sounds like you come off that way)

One last thought, there IS a dealer in CA you might try, close to san jose airport, and if you are anywhere on the west coast and plan your trip 2 weeks in advance you can get there on southwest for under fifty bucks each way. Look it up on the dealer's page on this BBS.


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