<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; =
-khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Jan 20, 2006, =
at 12:26 PM, Barbara Richmond wrote:</DIV><BR =
class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN =
class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV><FONT =
face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" =
style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">You guys are so funny. =
It's true that during my career I have had some customers say they were =
glad to find a female piano tech, mostly in response to a couple =
techs in the area that over-stayed their welcome by talking too much or =
even made, uh, unwelcome =
advances.<BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR =
class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Well, I've also heard tales =
that some of those advances are not always so unwelcome, but that's =
another subject for another day.</DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN =
class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV><FONT =
face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" =
style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "> I believe most =
referrals came to me because folks were pleased with my work. But, =
just so you know, early in my career, I was often mistaken for the piano =
tuner's secretary and one time, when the customer realized that I (the =
female) was indeed the piano tuner, she said, "Well, I'd rather have a =
man!" </SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" =
size="2"></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN =
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; =
">;-)</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" =
size="2"></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN =
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; =
">Barbara Richmond, strange, but female</SPAN></FONT><FONT face="Arial" =
size="2"></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" =
size="2"></FONT> </DIV></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV>I've been =
doing this since I was 17. You can imagine all the first time =
responses I've gotten over the years from people at the door looking =
past me for the gray-haired fellow (who I am now becoming) they expect =
to be coming up behind me. "You're the driver, right?" "Where's =
the piano tuner?" "I was expecting someone older." I even thought I =
caught a hint once that the lady customer was, shall we say, =
"disappointed" that I was filling in for her regular tuner. (see =
above?)</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>But =
my all time favorite was a Doctor -- yes, an MD, a college educated man =
-- who, when he found out what I did, said, "I thought you had to be =
blind to do that."</DIV><DIV><BR =
class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Jeff</DIV><BR><BR><DIV> =
<SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jeff Tanner, =
RPT</DIV><DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV><DIV><BR =
class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR =
class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>=