>>
"It's a scam. Well done to all those who donated money though, really well done.
*slow hand clap*"
>>Wow. Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning ?
I think we can all see that the POTENTIAL for a really well done scam is here, and I think we can all see that clearly (since the money offered was not actually collected) such a scam has NOT occured!
Ive been here since the beginning of the thread and Im moved to speak about it:
People call this a miracle, mind blowing, proof of God and all the rest but are these kinds events anything that we bass players dont already know exist? I think we do. And I think this story uniquely resonates with bass players and that is the reason we are all so moved.
The first point is that GE simply found a bass player down on his luck (actually on his way back up since he was working day labor and up to then did have a borrowed bass to play). GE, as does every one of us here, knew what it means to bass players to not only not have YOUR bass but to not have ANY bass to play. Each of us, if we truly are bass players, knows that this is when you feel truly alone. You are in effect cut off from your Muse. Cut off from your spirit, if you will.
So GE remarked that times are hard and he and we are not all flush with extra cash, but that a cheap beater bass essentially spread across a few bass players as the cost of a Pizza could get one of our own back on the bass-playing track with a beater. And of course since we all understand what it is to be without bass response was not only immediate but also far exceeded the actual needs.
So does that take away from GE for trying to help out a fellow bass player? No. It just provides a demonstration of a simple rule we all know is true. A voyage around the world begins with a single step. If GE had simply shrugged his shoulders, felt sorry for the guy, picked his teeth and went on with his life, none of this would have happened. If everyone here who has been scammed by their fellow musicians who borrowed things and never returned them or spun big yarns about the great things they were going to do but never did them had remained skeptical, nothing would have ever happened. No. Every great thing takes someone stepping up to the plate and saying, Lets do this! And a bunch more saying, yeah, This is worthwhile. Ill help! You just have to use your best judgment.
People here are saying miracle and acting as if GE is some kind of saint. But the fact clearly right in front of all our faces is that real miracles arent done by saints deciding to turn water into wine, but by ordinary people standing up and saying, Lets do this small thing because its the RIGHT thing to do. And then amazingly one finds that when enough people are moved, the small thing can suddenly turn into a great thing and people start to call it a miracle.
Are they wrong? No, I dont think they are wrong! Great things CAN and DO happen right in front of us all. Weve all had those special gigs where everything just (as my Dad used to say) clicked. Amazing solos. Everyone completely tuned in everyone else. Each musician knowing exactly what the other musicians were going to do before they did it. And the music so creative and inspired that it obviously was coming from God or the Spirit world or the Muse of History or in any case something obviously more powerful than mere humans, but clearly not coming from the men and women playing the instruments! Ive been there and Ill bet you have too. Those times ARE miraculous!
But for every miracle unless someone is willing to take the first step, nothing ever happens. And for that GE deserves all the credit.
It is all powerful stuff. We are bass players and we understand these things and that is why we are so moved. The rest of the world may not understand so readily. Yes, a reunion of brothers is something anyone can understand, but the spark that started the miracle, namely helping a fellow bass player avoid the loneliness of being without bass, is something that only those of us here will get. And the same way that nobody dances if the bass doesnt play, this whole miracle would still be waiting to happen had not the bass players taken the first small step. You might think that this thread has grown beyond having anything to do with bass playing, but you and I know that is simply not true. Without bass everyone would still be trying to find the groove.
Saturday though. I understand you slow rest of world! Have a very good day or evening, winter or HOOOT SUMMER like it is here. Much aroha, love, and peace.
