<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brian,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you for the post. We all need to = remember others feelings whether they are our customers work pals or other people = we come in contact with.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>See you </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mother Goose</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: = 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A href="mailto:btrout@desupernet.net" = title=btrout@desupernet.net>Brian Trout</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, December 04, = 1999 1:24 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Kindness, mercy, only = slightly piano related, & long</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Hi list,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I thought I'd share a couple of experiences I had in a rebuilding = shop, kind of relating to some stringing operations that were happening, but = more about some events amongst people.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It's kind of long, and if you're only interested in the technical = piano stuff, you'll probably want to just hit the delete button.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyway...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We had an old Kohler & Campbell spinet piano that was getting = restrung... I know, I know, you don't have to say it... but it was = getting done anyway.  There was a guy in the shop who normally did just = basic work, some hardware polishing, and some very basic regulation and = repairs who normally took care of a lot of the low end work on just such type = pianos, that we decided might benefit from the experience of restringing a = piano.  So we let him go at it.  (He had been a helper on many restringing = projects, so he was quite familiar with the operation.) He worked at it for = several hours, but ended up misreading the stringing scale we had made, and = ended up stringing about half of the top section wrong.  Well, it was = almost his quitting time when he made this discovery, and he was very discouraged = by it, and didn't want to continue with the project.  Since we had a = deadline, another tech and I decided that we would work diligently for the rest = of the day, and finish this thing up right.  So we started.  We = removed about half of the piano wire, and began again.  I started out = winding the wire on the tuning pins and pounding them in, while my friend and = co-worker kept me supplied with the appropriate wire.  Everything seemed to = be going fine until I realized that I had skipped the very first pin I = should have started on.  :-(  I told him just as soon as I = noticed.  He would have been perfectly justified if he had read me the riot act, = and refused to work any farther with me on this project.  He was = actually the head of the shop at the time, and could probably have required me to = fix what I had messed up on my own time.  That was a very vulnerable = moment for me.  I messed up.  I did it wrong.  It was my = fault.  What did he do?  He very kindly said something like, "well, let's see = what we can do..." and we proceeded to undo all that we had done, and start over.  We finished the job without further incident, and enjoyed = each other's company as well.  A couple of years later, I reminded him = of this whole thing and thanked him for his kindness towards me.  He said = he didn't even remember it.  I did.  I probably will for a long = time.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>A couple of years after, another thing happened.  By this = time, I was in charge of the shop.  There's an older fellow who was = (still is) working there that has been there for at least 20 years, maybe much more.  He's in his 80's, 83 or 84, I think.  Anyway, he's a helper.  He's a good worker, and is happiest when he's being = useful and helpful.  Unfortunately, his eyesight isn't what it used to be = and it's sometimes hard for him to do the things he used to do so well.  = Anyway, we were stringing a piano, a grand this time.  We were about 3/4 = of the way through the plain wire strings when he started having trouble = seeing which hitch pin the wire was supposed to be wrapped around.  He missed = the first one, and we caught it right away.  So rather than trying to = fix that one, I just cut the wire off, and got a fresh piece for another string.  It doesn't take long.  I wasn't really upset.  = It happens.  But after it happened a few more times, he got very discouraged, and said "maybe I should just quit, you'd probably be = better off without me."  It was one of his vulnerable moments.  I = suppose I could have told him to find something else to do, or told him how = incompetent he was, but I didn't want to do that.  He's a good worker.  = He's a good person.  What we did, was, we took a little break.  We = had a cup of iced tea.  Basically, I told him "everything will be just fine.  We all mess up.  It's ok." I told him about the first = incident, the one I told you about above, and how my other friend was = so kind to me.  I told him not to worry, and that I appreciated him = helping me with the stringing.  We went back to work after a few minutes, = and he helped me finish without another problem of any kind.  I don't = remember the piano.  But I do remember my friend.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I hope that when you encounter those vulnerable moments in your = life, whether you're the one who's encountering it in someone else, or = whether it's you who's vulnerable, I hope that kindness will be with you.  = It's sometimes easy to say things that are "right" and "true" that can cut = to the heart of the people we are with, many times, people we love.  We = all have those vulnerable moments.  They're a part of life.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Be kind to one another.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best wishes to all,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Brian Trout</DIV> <DIV>Quarryville, PA</DIV> <DIV><A = href="mailto:btrout@desupernet.net">btrout@desupernet.net</A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>