To B or not to B3?

‎(This is a beautifully detailed miniature! I want one of these for my doll house! :)

In light of the fact that Hammond B3 organs have been recently brought to the fore-front of the band on shows such as "American Idol" and "Duets", a part of my tiny, wretched soul is perplexed.

The conundrum is thusly:

The pros:
1) The recent flourish of exposure of this endangered species - the Hammond organ - will keep it in the heart of musical American's minds. This guarantees longevity, at least to some extent.

2) The recent exposure keeps the "supply / demand" cycle tight, keeping their value and prices up!

The cons:
1) Could this recent exposure be too good to be true? How can a smart phone / iPad society possibly appreciate vintage quality - musical instrument royalty, if you will.

2) The same fast paced society tends to have a 'disposable' mind set. (Take, for example, the rate that historic buildings and other national treasures are being destroyed.)

Even though the Hammond organ is still being produced, they are, at best, a good facsimile of the original. I have played the new Hammond B3, and I absolutely love it. I want one!

HOWEVER....their sound is digitally produced, and their amplifiers are solid state, rather than built with tubes. The originals are no longer being manufactured.

Do we really want vintage, irreplaceable heirloom musical treasures finding their way into the hands of a non-appreciative, disposable society?

That, my friends, is the quandrum at hand! :)

- Michael

Just waiting for it....

Several years ago, I was riding the St. Louis city bus system, and an elderly black woman was sitting in a seat directly across from me.

A black man, in his 50's got on the bus, and sat down beside her. We continued our journey for a few blocks, and I could see the elderly woman eyeing this man out of the corner of her eye.

When her curiosity finally reached it's threshold, she looked directly into his eyes, and asked him, "What do you do?"

He answered her, "Ma'am, I don't do anything."

She responded, "So, you're just sitting around, 'waiting for it', huh?"
(By saying 'Waiting for it', she was implying that he was sitting around, doing nothing, and waiting to die.)

He looked a bit disturbed, and answered, "Ma'am, I'm not waiting for ANYTHING!"

She said, "Oh, I think you are! I am 83 years old, and I go to work every day. I volunteer at a homeless shelter, feeding the homeless. I think YOU can do something more useful with your time than just sitting around 'waiting for it'!"

A couple blocks later, the man got off the bus in somewhat of a huff and a flurry.

After his exit, I jumped up, stepped across the aisle, and gave this woman a huge hug!

I told her how much I loved her, and how inspiring she was!

I know this woman was sent to me from a Higher Power.

Without my saying a word about my condition(s) or my situation, she looked at me and said, "Oh, honey, I'm not talking about YOU!"
She looked at my right arm, and my right leg, and she continued:
"I can see that you have your share of challenges, too, but I can also see that you are going places, and you are doing things. You look VERY busy, and you are making good use of your time spent on this Earth. When judgment day comes, you can answer proudly because you didn't waste the time that was given to you. Pointing out the widow at the man that just got off the bus, she said, "That fella, uh.... his story will probably end differently!"

Angels do, indeed, come in all shapes and sizes.

I have never felt so proud of myself, laughed AND had a bad case of the chills at the same time!

- Michael

"OK. These two are about the same whore!"

Somebody is going to have to explain this one to me.

Two of our dogs (Denver and Sherman) walked past Conrad's cage, and very as-a-matter-of-factly, he exclaimed with great proclamation:
"OK.  These two are about the same whore!"


Does Conrad come from a universe what we know not of?  How can two different individuals be one - the same?  One good explanation was that he was simply making me aware that even though they are very different breeds, he knows that both Denver and Sherman are dogs, and in good Conrad-fashion, instead of saying, "These 2 are dogs!", he had to make his labels a bit more interesting by jazzing it up a bit.


Such comparisons aren't that unusual.  I have a friend that has 2 African Greys, "Buzzy" and "Bear".  He also had a dog named "Joe".  Buzzy and Bear's cage was sitting by a window in the living room, and when it starts to  rain at a nice rate, Buzzy would say, "Come here, Joe! It's raining dogs!"


(Minimally, these are just a few of the advanced cognitive functions that are occuring during that small exchange between Buzzy and Joe:
1) the fact that Buzzy knows to call Joe
2) the fact that he knows Joe will come to the cage
3) the fact that he knows Joe is a dog, 
4) the fact that he know how to identify rain by name
5)  the fact that he has heard the phrase, "It's raining cats and dogs!" in the past, and
5)  the fact that he remembered the phrase, and individualized the phrase to match the current relevant situation. 


The summary of this assorted saga is this:
"OK.  These two are about the same whore!"


he he

- Michael