Richard Jernigan -> RE: José Ramirez III for sale jewel... (Nov. 21 2012 13:33:41)
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Some of the plugged peg holes from its 11-string past are visible on the back of the headstock of the 1912 Manuel Ramirez given to Segovia, according to authoritative accounts I have read and photographs I have seen. We saw it and the 1937 Hauser when we were in New York a couple of months ago, but as it is displayed in the Metropoiitan Museum, you can't see the back of the headstock. There are a few repaired cracks in the top, and the Santos label can be seen. What evidence is there, other than idle speculation, that Manuel Ramirez was "a cold-blooded ass"? By contemporary accounts he was warm hearted, gregarious and well liked. His shop was a gathering place for socializing among musicians of various kinds, not only guitarists. While Segovia was in the shop trying out the guitar Ramirez gave him, a violin teacher from the Conservatory came into the shop. He advised Segovia to apply his evident talents to a "more suitable" instrument. The father of Jose I and Manuel Ramirez was a prosperous engineer. He and an architect partner laid out and developed an upscale residential district of Madrid. This would have made them both wealthy men. He tried to persuade his sons to follow some profession other than luthiery, but both persisted, out of a passion for music, and for the guitar in particular. They could have been engineers, architects, doctors, lawyers or businessmen if they had chosen. But both insisted on being guitar makers, and both made a decent living at it, despite their father's prophecy to the contrary: "If a guitarrero doesn't die in the charity hospital, it's because he couldn't afford the cab fare to get there." In addition to being by far the most respected guitar maker of the era, Manuel was responsible for the care of all the stringed instruments belonging to the Royal Conservatory in Madrid, and stated as much proudly on his guitar labels. Is any successful person automatically suspected of being a "cold-blooded ass"? Jose Ramirez III was notoriously a stern taskmaster and a stickler for detail, but his three most famous oficiales always spoke of him to me with the warmest regard and greatest respect. One of my very best friends was one of the founders of a company which grew to a $billion per years sales, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He was warm-hearted, considerate, ethical, friendly, a lover of music and poetry. His daughter is a professor of music, his son a player in the Minneapolis Orchestra. He was a principal founder of Austin's listener-supported classical music radio station, one of the very few in the USA that is totally supported by local contributions. I knew him well enough to tell you that his wealth was just a by-product of his desire to help create a successful company, and his ability to do it. He didn't set out to be wealthy. He set out to be part of an independent and creative team. The wealth was an unexpected by-product that came about due to his leading role in solving a difficult engineering problem. Another of the company's founders was the inventor of automated equipment for audiology, used in the treatment of hearing impairment. Another of the company's founders was the inventor of the Omega navigation system, for a certain period a technology used by all the major airlines of the world, a significant contribution to flight safety. One of the company's founders is 92 years old. He's still sharp and active. Last year he sold his house. He and his wife moved into a retirement home. Soon afterward he was elected to the residents' council, which advises the management on the residents' concerns and preferences. After a just few months he was elected president of the council. I knew all these men personally. They were ethical, humane, and motivated to benefit humanity. They made money because their contributions were universally perceived to be beneficial. Each of them donated a substantial part of his wealth to local art museums, musical institutions, colleges, preservation of historic buildings.... Do you suspect these men of having been "cold-blooded asses" just because they were wealthy? Damn! Don't get me wrong. I have run up against my share of cold-blooded asses in the world. Some of them were wealthy. Many were not. Some of them were wealthy largely because they were cold-blooded asses. But wealth is not a secure criterion for identifying the species. RNJ Time to get in the car and head to my brother's place in the country for the Thanksgiving holiday. Uh-oh! He's pretty well off. Better be on my guard. Just because he was a physician most his life doesn't mean he's to be trusted! Last time I showed up there, a man was painting the gate to the 70-acre hill country place. Shortly afterward my brother left to drive him home. My sister-in-law told me the man's house had been destroyed by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri. He had moved his family to Texas, but was unable to find a job. They were paying him to do work around their place. I helped my sister-in-law to prepare a Christmas meal to be sent to the family. But I'm sure they had some nefarious scheme to profit by alienating the man's labor.[&:]
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