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From: Ross
Remote Name: 76.101.10.136
Date: 03 Apr 2007
Time: 08:52:37 -0400
Luthier’s Weblog 4/3/07 Given half a chance, I will tell a stranger all about myself in great detail at first acquaintance. Do I do it often? No. Why not? People don’t ask. It seems as if each of us is so caught up in our own storyline that we miss out on a profoundly deep resource that is the life experiences of others. For example, in the last three work days, I have listened in great detail to the beliefs and stories of two men . The first responded to my questions about his work in such a way that I slowly came to realize he had been a government intelligence operative with firsthand knowledge of America’s involvement with Cuba since the Bay of Pigs, through the Kennedy assassination and up through the nineties. I listened and asked informed questions in that I had read quite a bit on that subject. I believe that this gentleman simply was unable in daily life to expound on subjects that he held dear and on which he held strong opinions because no one asked him, and welcomed the opportunity to make known a synopsis of the heart of his life. My cost? Two hours of time, and I gained insight into a subject that interested me, and was blessed with a view into another person’s mind. The second discussion was with a casual friend who was experiencing cataclysmic personal turmoil. In middle age, he was attempting to change his life’s work from one that was fiscally adequate but mentally and spiritually unfulfilling to one that held more meaning for him but less stability. The fallout disastrously affected his wife, children, and business partner. His goal? Political reform in his native Latin American country. It was a wonder to see the passion in this very intelligent man’s eyes when he spoke of his plans. Unspoken was his assessment of the cost to his family, who are estranged, financially burdened, and confused. I spent a lot of time after our conversation weighing cost/benefit of his actions, and the moral ramifications. My tendency is to try to simplify things into black and white. In fact, I believe that I should. But rushing to a conclusion simply in order to put something in a black/white pigeonhole is a mistake, and I’m going to think some more about this guy’s choices. If someone shows up in my shop today and begins asking questions about me and my life and my work, I wonder what I’ll tell him? Probably depends on how much time he has. Oh yeah, guitars…..um, maybe later. 9:52 am