<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1126" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV>Pre 1939, to me, means before WWll.</DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>John M. Ross<BR>Windsor, Nova Scotia, = Canada<BR></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I don't know if anyone was making pianos between 1939 and 1945. = I've always just said pre- and post-war pianos. Maybe enough history has happened = since 1945 that we need to be more specific so people aren't confused. Did I just = confuse everyone?</FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>The principal cause of WWII was WWI. Things were = poorly--if at all--resolved after WWI and the crushing, demoralizing, = and destabilizing burdens that were laid on Germany created the perfect = nurturing ground for the nutty Nazi and his ilk. The lesson was learned, I guess, = because WWII was followed up with much more sensitivity, = generosity--whatever you want to call it--in the Marshall Plan, etc. Modern free Germany = & Japan are a tribute to the foresight of Truman, Ike, Churchill, = MacArthur, etc.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>On the other hand, were the burning, underlying = causes of ALL the trouble resolved? Nope. WWI started with an assassination in = Sarajevo and the instant Tito's "lid" on that region was lifted they fell into = the old Pre-WWI tribal conflicts that have been raging for = centuries.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Sigh.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Alan Barnard</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Salem, MO</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>P.S. I don't know why I wrote all = that--current troubles on my mind I guess. War is sure a terrible option but = unilateral pacifism and appeasement never work, either; they just seem to delay the = war and make it bigger.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>P.P.S. There was one terrifically good = consequence of WWII for piano tuners, however: All birdcage production was halted, forever. Amen</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>P.P.P.S. Did y'all hear Paul Harvey's "The Rest = of The Story" about the life of Franz Mohr? It was well done, very interesting, = and a tribute to a great member of the profession.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>