<!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 6.00.2800.1226" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Clyde. I wasn't trying to suggest = that I have credit card troubles I need to escape from. And to clarify, the lady = told me that she would be happy to buy her son a new Yamaha tomorrow - she just = didn't want to spend much money to find out if he would "stick to it". So money = availability was not the issue. A willingness to supply a minimally = serviceable piano was the issue.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=cedel@supernet.com href="mailto:cedel@supernet.com">Clyde = Hollinger</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, September 18, = 2003 7:09 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> OT - Re: Halt Piano = Work!</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>Terry, <P>I understand that for a significant portion of today's = "wealthy,"  what you see doesn't indicate how much money is in the bank.  = Sometimes they are so over-extended, having bought much more than they really = could afford, that the least little unexpected expense throws them into a = crisis. <P>I heard a financial advisor tell the story of trying to help a = client with $600,000 of consumer debt.  Through an unexpected turn of events, = she now had to get by on an income of only a million per year.  Could = *you* be debt-free if you made so little money?!  On the other hand, = neighbors of mine keep their bills paid living on social security of $900/month. <P>Some people definitely live in poverty, but for the rest of us, = it's not how much we make; it's learning and applying good money = management.  I understand the average household continuously pays interest on = $7,000-$9,000 of credit card debt.  That's about $1,000 of after-tax money down = the tube, year after year after year....  Yes, I was there, for a = brief time many years ago, but not anymore.  You can escape. <P>If my writing this response will help one piano technician get out = of the credit trap, it will have been worth my time. <P>Regards, <BR>Clyde <P>Farrell wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE="CITE"><FONT face=Arial><FONT = size=-1><snip>  She said "child is only 4 yo, surely we can just put $200 into it so = he can plunk on it to see if he takes to piano. If he does well, I'll be = happy to buy him a new piano." I told her piano teachers tell me that the = best way to make sure a child fails is to provide him a poor-performing piano. = But OK, we can tune it at pitch and try and free up the keys/action for $200.</FONT></FONT> <FONT face=Arial><FONT size=-1>I should = mention that all this is occurring in a brand new $500K house in a brand new = subdivision with a brand new Lexus SUV in driveway and piano is in = toy room with about $5K worth of toy trains, planes and automobiles scattered = about........  <snip></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>