To all my brothers and sisters in piano work: One of the downsides of self-employment is the exposure we have to catastrophic events. Although some of us are employed by institutions or dealerships, most of us go it alone, and if something happens, we deal with it in the best way we can scrape together, for better or for worse. Few of us have the resources to survive comfortably through any extended period of unemployment, whether as a result of health issues, macro-economic stresses, or sudden traumas. We just keep on plugging, with our fingers crossed, and if we're fortunate, our spouse or partner will help pull us through in a time of need. If we're the sole support, we're in real trouble. John Granholm will not be able to work for a good while. I don't have any idea what his financial situation is, but presumably, if he didn't need to be working, like most of us do, he would be fishing or golfing or otherwise relaxing. In other words, he is suddenly facing, among daunting physical difficulties, the prospect of no income, when just last week, the assumption was he would be working for a living. Having been in similar straits once, though not nearly so severe, I well remember the deep gratitude I felt for my fellow piano technicians who helped me get through in my time of need. Members of my chapter of PTG tuned pianos for me, and gave me the checks. I choke up right now just remembering those acts of love and support. Nothing has ever meant more to me. So here's what I'm going to do: I will tune one piano a month for John Granholm and send him the check, until he's able to return to work. This is one way I can express my gratitude for PTG; for the generosity of its members, my brothers and sisters, toward their fellows; and to John for his contributions to our world. I want to ease his mind during his recovery I hope you will join me. -Mark Schecter, RPT San Francisco Chapter since 1979 ……………………………………………………………………… Mark, I know of a number people who have benefited from this tradition--it truly is PTG at its best. Thanks for rallying the troops. I'm in. Barbara Richmond, RPT ……………………………………………………………………… To all - Just back from a long day of tuning. At 9 o'clock this morning, at my first job, I'm sitting at a piano with a half-round window over the back of it, looking out at the tops of the budding trees, and the white, fair weather clouds drifting lazily across the bright blue sky. From a nearby patio door, a chorus of robins outside and a refreshing hint of a cool breeze. I'm sitting in these cozy surroundings making a neglected piano sound musical again. What a great way to earn a living. As I tuned, I thought about how much John would love to be doing this right now. Just an ordinary job on a ordinary day sitting at an rather ordinary piano - what he would give to turn back the hands of time a bit so that he could be doing this very thing - what we do every day, and take entirely for granted. When I finished the job, my first of the month, I asked the customer to make the check out to John - I'll put it in an envelope and drop it in the mail the first thing in the morning. Maybe this isn't the best way to handle this (I don't want to do it in a way that mucks things up for John from a tax standpoint) but it seemed such a simple thing to do - and it just felt so good to be able to do something, even something as small as donating a single tuning. Whatever works as the best way to make contributions, let's stay focused on what's important. We're out here, doing what we enjoy, and John, for a long time at any rate, will be struggling just to put his life back together. While we can't really fix anything, let's do what we can to help - give our financial and our moral support to a great guy who, were the situation reversed, would do the same thing for any of us. Chuck ……………………………………………………………………… Thank you, Chuck, for your comments. I have written a check to John, and it is going in tomorrow's mail. I will see what happens with the Foundation. Otherwise, a check will go to him once a month for a while, taxes be damned. Wim ……………………………………………………………………… I don't know John, maybe some who do could fill us in on his accomplishments etc. David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 ……………………………………………………………………… David - I can tell you a little. He worked for years as a high school teacher, and is much loved in his community for his dedication to his students, volunteers as a legal advocate for kids caught in family disputes, leads a community theater group(recognized as a playwright in Oregon). Became an RPT after 20 years of tuning and rebuilding. He is a generous and supportive co-worker, careful to assist without embarrassing me for my stylistic ignorance, works efficiently to get the Journal in shape, and adopts writers who need help. He has a wonderful knack for editing without removing the author's personal voice. His approach is simple and friendly, and one day you realize you're working with a top-quality person. Ed S. ……………………………………………………………………… Dear Friends- John's condition is slowly improving. He's still very sedated, but talks for short periods. His internal organs are beginning to work again (after over 30 hours of surgery!). He has been moved to a "transition unit," which is the first stage out of ICU. Swelling in his left arm is going down, so he will soon have the use of one hand. Apparently cards sent to his patient admit number in ICU have not been delivered, so it is still recommended to wait until he is in a private room before sending cards. If you prefer, you can send cards to his home address John Granholm 1244 SE Germond Avenue Roseburg OR 97470 and his family will deliver them when the situation is right. I keep hoping for wonderful spectacular reports. More likely, we need to realize it's going to be a very long, slow recovery. The care expressed by his colleagues is deeply moving, and I have asked his family to tell him for us. Ed Sutton ……………………………………………………………………… To All – As you begin to attend to your weekly routine, consider what a luxury it is to be able to make the mundane decisions about whether to do this, or whether to do that. Keep John in your thoughts and prayers. Do what you can to help him through. Chuck ……………………………………………………………………… -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090504/c3072b23/attachment-0001.html>
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