dear dale,
let me be the first (in perhaps a horde of hundreds) to support your comments regarding this subject. I, in fact, DO feel as though I am both invited to your house AND that the drinks are free.
your work and enthusiasm goes beyond good will straight into philanthropy. as a longtime visitor to your establishment (fourteen years) I know how many times, personally, you have shared your knowledge and enthusiasm and time with me, to be compensated, all too often, by my purchasing a roll of handlebar tape or one axial pro tire. in my mind, there should be a statue of you, somewhere, and it should be eternally pigeon-resistant!
I extend this feeling and opinion to the vast majority of the list as well. VAST majority. anyone who has ever taken part in an event such as the cyclisme would no doubt agree. I think particularly of some of the fine framemakers and restorers that grace this list, and the sweat and blood issued forth for their work with not an appreciable amount of financial returns for their artistry and vision.
this is, in fact, what I think draws so many of them to this work. it is the love of the work, the love of the craft, with only the vaguest hope that it will lead to an occupation that will provide enough money to pay the bills. as the sagely keith richards once said, "no one picks up a guitar with the idea of making a million dollars. kids pick up guitars because they love the sound."
I taught school for seven years. I would often tire of complaints about salaries. I used to say, in fact, (unpopularly) at staff meetings: "when did you discover how little money teachers made? for me, it was when they handed me a contract in august." it is at that point that each and every teacher is given the option of saying "no thank you." yet examining it more closely, I realized that these complaints were really far more methaphorical than I originally thought. money=compensation. what teachers--and I feel, strongly, bicycle professionals often lack--is emotional and spiritual compensation (as well as financial, of course) for what they do. they need it. they deserve it. from the outside world, they all too rarely get it. to my mind, this is what makes such admirably figures as brian baylis and richard sachs such viable and visible and enthusiastic members of this list. it is here where they are able to share their knowledge, talents, and wisdom, with an appreciative group of individuals. and I am certain that they receive, to their minds, as much as they give, or they wouldn't continue to do so. god bless them all.
I only wish that the world had a great capacity to appreciate, and a lesser capacity to besot. it would be a more genuinely wonderful place.
please, to all: carry on. we are fine.
and--thanks everybody.
ricky garni
carrboro, nc