Ted and Bruce,
I don't know Bernie. The first time I ever heard of him was a couple of weeks ago when somebody announced to the list that he was in the hospital. Nevertheless, I am sorry for him and his family, and I hope he recovers completely and gets his life back together soon.
Ted, your imploration for someone to take up the cause and lead the way in raising money to help Bernie was obviously heartfelt and well-meaning. But I have to say that belittling our hobby, and attempting to guilt-trip us into charitable action, is not only unnecessarily offensive, but is also counterproductive. By implying that instead of caring about what Campagnolo did back when, or about the stripes on a Cinelli, we should be thinking about how we can help Bernie, I doubt you will get results that benefit Bernie.
Bruce, I found your band-wagoning in poor taste, not to mention old-hat. We all know that you are not happy with your situation, but Ted's post was supposed to be about helping Bernie, not about you and your complaints about the industry. And I have to add that taking a swipe at those of us who are interested in restoration details such as Cinelli stripes, is also counterproductive for you. Those who may take offense with your comments are part of your potential clientele. Perhaps if you consider the consequences of your public comments more carefully, one day we will read a post from you saying that sales are up and you can afford health insurance.
Back to helping Bernie. Ted, I suggest you not wait for somebody else to take the lead. Instead, think about the possibility of trying something like organizing a Pro-Bernie-Raffle. It does not take special skills to do that. And perhaps Bruce can get the ball rolling by donating something he has in stock. I'm sure many of us would be happy to buy tickets.
It won't pay his hospital bills, but it will help.
And finally, some classic content. Completely undeterred by recent comments, I will be preparing a "Cinelli Stripes" page with photos and comments I received from several list members.
Respectfully,
Ray Dobbins Miami Florida USA
Bruce Gordon <bgcycles@svn.net> wrote: The news of Bernie having had a stroke recently has also hit me hard, especially since he is about my age. I spoke to him briefly at Interbike and he seemed to be the "Same Old Bernie".
Ted's mentioning the number of posts about the "stripes on a Cinelli" really hit home and prompted me to write.
Last March at the NAHBS show (Hand built Bike Show) in San Jose I circulated an anonymous questionnaire to the builders there. One of the questions was:
Do you have health insurance, and if so, is it paid for by your business??
I received 18 completed questionnaires. 75% of those who answered had NO Health Insurance. Of the remaining 25% - 2/3 of those had insurance through a spouse.
There is something fundamentally wrong with a business where some of the people who are most respected, do not earn enough money to afford health insurance.
Unfortunately all the bike parts members sell on ebay to help defray his costs won't pay for 2 hours of his hospitalization, let alone support someone like Bernie who has probably lost his ability to continue his trade that he has been doing for at least 25 years.
Now back to seat tube stickers.
Regards,
Bruce Gordon