Why go when you know?

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

Why go when you know?

For many piano tuners, both members of the PTG and non members, attending a 
PTG chapter meeting, going to a PTG seminar or traveling  to a convention, 
seems to be a big waste off time. They claim they already know everything, or 
at most, won't learn anything new, to make it worth their money, much less 
their time. 

The other day I drove by a fire house, and there were the fireman, practicing 
going up a ladder. I thought to myself, what a waste of time for those 
fireman. Everyday these
fireman climb up a  ladder, so why do they have to practice this maneuver 
over and over again. Isn't there anything better for them to do?  Every year 
at spring training, baseball players go through countless drills on how to 
play the game. Base running, catching a fly ball, covering first base, 
throwing home on the fly, are drill these players constantly have to 
practice, in order to prepare for the season ahead. These are professional 
players, getting paid millions of dollars a year, who should know how to play 
baseball. Yet they have to "retrain" every year. And most of them keep 
practicing thought the year. CPA's, lawyers, and doctors, are required to 
attend a certain number of training sessions every year in order to retain 
their license. Perhaps they know something to which we should be paying 
attention 

I am sure you are getting my point. Why keep practicing, why keep working on 
the
fundamentals, why keep attending training sessions, when you already know how 
to tune and repair pianos? The answer is simple. No matter how much you know, 
no matter how long you have been in the business, no matter how many meetings 
and seminars you have attended, it's impossible to know and remember 
everything there is to know about our craft. 

Attending a chapter meeting, or going to one of the seminars, or traveling to 
the annual PTG convention, is a necessity for piano tuners. We aren't any 
different than the firemen, the baseball players or any of the other 
professions. Everyone needs to "retrain" once in a while, just to keep up 
with what we know. 

Why go when you know? Because you'll never know everything. And when you know
everything, then you can stop going.  But how will you know if you know 
everything? 
There is only one way to find out, and that is to go to a convention, and 
attend every class you can, especially those where you think you know 
everything. When you come away from those classes not having learned 
something, then, maybe, you're ready to retire from attending. But I'll tell 
you, everytime I have attended a class where I thought I knew everything, I 
learn something new. That is why I keep coming back for more. 

If you haven't registered yet for the convention, the deadline for early 
registration is
coming up soon. Go to "retrain" yourself. 

Willem Blees RPT
St. Louis
Attending his 23rd straight PTG convention.