McKittyNuts
91247
2555
12
Mar 16, 2024 4:14 PM
McKittyNuts
91247
2555
12
MuffinProof
Tekethia is a unique and delightful name I've never encountered before
bottledham
"Now 21, Ruffin's studying economics at a college in South Dakota. But, he never dropped out of the band, in middle or high school, and continues to enjoy the trumpet to this day. Though the instrument is now old, missing keys thanks to precocious siblings, Ruffin said that he is forever grateful to Jones for his generosity and fostering his love of music."
https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/everyday-hero/2018/06/18/everyday-hero--a-kind-gesture-keeps-the-music-alive
Detacheddavid
Old letter? Listen, you lil'shit: It's from 2009. That was 10 years ago.
notacobra
Me: this letter looks old, but the wording and font seems recent. When was it made. 2009!? Why does it look so old then? Wait...
Also me:
Lexgeddon
This is a very kind person, but I'm forced to point out "tough times never last" sounds a lot like survivorship bias.
bottledham
TheRealJ9
I gotta know.....did you ever have to return the trumpet??? Or are you the next Dizzy Gillespie?
majortool
Why is it spelt centre in FL, USA?
tr26
Why is any place called Ye Olde? Especially Ye Olde Shoppe Centre? Because it sounds fancy to some people. Also presumably to brits
FisheswithDynamite
When people don't have to struggle under bills and payments and anxiety, especially over things for their children, the world is better.
Datsinginguy
And that boy grew up to be Louis Armstrong
TheSatanicFalcon
2009... Why does this look like it's from 1964?
pyroshen
"an old letter" from 2009... I thought this was going to be from the 60s. I was surprised there was a website.
MusicPenguin
By Julie Gargotta Seminole County
PUBLISHED 11:13 AM ET Jun. 18, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180618191830/https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/everyday-hero/2018/06/18/everyday-hero--a-kind-gesture-keeps-the-music-alive
Pokegeologist
Did band from 4th grade until my senior year in college. Best decision I made. Still have a core group of band friends I still keep up with 23 years on. Was an Aggie Bandsman in college and a concert musician until things got too busy my last two years.
TheLookAndFeelMUSIC
Forest Gump
Hurch
Wow...a decent human being! A rare find, indeed.
ecglover
Do you still play?
NoTeEnchiles
I want this to be real.
Birdnose
This is true class
leviaton
I'm Jr High I was in band and they had lots of instruments extra. My teacher let me use the French horn and the school sent a letter saying we had to pay and rent it. I just remember looking at the bill knowing we couldn't pay it. We barely had food every meal. He just looked at me and never spoke a word for 3 years and it was waiting for me each school year
newfoundfreedom
Go home and hug your mom. And be sure to thank her for all that she did/does for you.
McKittyNuts
Eh, if you're lucky enough, I wasn't/doesn't
Laxbun
I thought Jim Jones ran a different organization...
Thenoodlerishere
LawFiveGuy
I kind of like 'tough times never last, tough people do'
wherearemytesticles
Anyone got that video of an African man saying that line? lol
mojoesodope23
"Tough times never last, tough people do" - Jim Jones
xuriV
mathknight
boostcreep
Sounds like something from a WW2 propaganda poster. Great line though.
comacomacomacomachameleon
maybe we should bring back WW2-style propaganda. Get people on board with working towards a collective good and taking pride in your work and your country and serving a larger purpose.
Anarchduke
I got some good WW2 propaganda. It goes something like, "Shoot Nazis!"
LawFiveGuy
it's right up there with the Rocky "it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit... and keep moving forward" line.
Eypisod
Years of service indeed
gmanhass
40 years of service the website is up!
witless1
There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for
CrazyCatLad
*TRUMPET SOUNDS* GONDOR CALLS FOR AID! Also, the beacons appear lit.
Mytherandis
One of the quotes that keeps me going.
zombiebatman
Po-tay-toes!
circlebreaker
Soggybathroomsock
RobJenkins
To be fair, Ruffin is a plausible Hobbit surname
IRideUponAPaleHorse
BobaFettApproves
rhmrcScifiBandit
Marshall music sent a hired goon (middle aged lady) over to my house when my mom fell behind on my instrument payments. She asked where it was and "do you know the difference between right and wrong?". I gave it back to her. I got another (used) instrument at a later date from a different company.
chunguswangus
"Fuck you, Sam." Frodo, probably (but the ring corrupted him, so....)
Potatokil1er
Sam makes me tear up
circlebreaker
ManOfKent1967
squishybaker
Why Sonia?
ManOfKent1967
She's famous for getting her trumpet out on EastEnders. š
availlableusername
"I shall get my trumpet out at some point and entertain myself."
whoatherebigfella
This is not your letter. It is a letter though, Iāll give you that much.
madeejit
I was about to ask Jacques to take out his aul horn and play us a tune, but you beat me to it.
PedroPaisan
Please give us a follow-up report. Did you give the trumpet back to him or are you still using it?
MusicPenguin
You don't want to google what happened to the kid.
bottledham
"Now 21, Ruffin's studying economics at a college in South Dakota. But, he never dropped out of the band, in middle or high school, and continues to enjoy the trumpet to this day.
Though the instrument is now old, missing keys thanks to precocious siblings, Ruffin said that he is forever grateful to Jones for his generosity and fostering his love of music."
https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/everyday-hero/2018/06/18/everyday-hero--a-kind-gesture-keeps-the-music-alive
PedroPaisan
That is so very cool how a good gesture can make such a difference to people.
Illpostcheese
Some would call it excess, but when people are prosperous, things are nicer. They're more charitable in their money and attitude and it's because of survival. The more people struggle, the colder people get and what it comes down to, there's not enough. Not enough time in the day to help that poor soul stuck on the side of the road. Not enough money to make it through the month... I might need this dollar... I can't give it to the homeless man at this intersection... And from this...
SugarSmack
Don't entirely agree. If you have enough and more, is it easier to be charitable? Yes, if you choose to. But, also, poor people are often the most generous, esp when you consider it proportionally. Anyone in construction or likewise can tell you that a rich person is most likely to stiff you underservedly. More likely to withhold or take advantage. My circle isn't rich, but most will always give money to a person in need, tip generously, and offer help. Life is hard. Bitterness is optional.
meadowmeal
poor people tend to share what they have because they have no wealth accumulation mindset, whereas more affluent people resume that others either have equivalent privilege or dont deserve it
nubblebun
I was trying to explain something that just came to me. It's that I am selfish, so I want everybody around me to be safe and prosperous. I don't want to live in a society filled with desperate people with nothing to lose.
nubblebun
I am selfish. I want to enjoy my City's parks and beaches and streets and shops. I don't want to be harassed by crazy homeless people and Drug addicts. I want the crazy homeless people and drug addicts to get help and shelter so they don't fuck up my day because I'm selfish.
nubblebun
And that's why my pure selfishness wants everybody else to be helped. Because a society filled with desperate dangerous people is not one that is safe and happy for me. I'm selfish. So I want you to be helped.
Illpostcheese
...anger, resentment is born. Well they'll just use that dollar for drugs. That person probably won't even appreciate me helping them and the dreaded, it doesn't even matter. Keep that going long enough and... *gestures generally.* That's why I try to look for the little lights in this world, and try to appreciate each one. We can help, I know we can. And for any that because resentment, anger, destitution. If you can, at the very least, don't harm.
Larsonmars2
You are wrong on so many levels. Ask waiters and waitresses how the rich tip.
keystotheairlock
The mentality of scarcity vs the mentality of abundance.
migratingotter
Beg to differ. Worked with a man who would give money to people who needed a lunch because someone was stealing, was partially supporting his son and his wife and child, was sending money to his mother who had cancer and was living paycheck to paycheck. He was the most generous person I know. Then worked with others that earned way more and had carry out more often than not but wouldnāt give or loan anyone a cent.
migratingotter
People who grow up poor and have had to do without are more understanding and compassionate to those who are poor and are more generous to people. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven.
BobAllen2004
While it is generous, it should also be pointed out the ridiculous prices these stores charge. When my kids were wanting to take lessons in school, the violin and the trumpet where hundreds and hundreds of dollars. You could find them online for $100 or maybe a little more. Were they Chinese made? Yes. Were they good quality? Also yes. Were they more than a beginner could ever ask for? Hell yes.
And when my kids were ready to move on, they were just donated to the school for a needy kid
Thatknifeguy
Thereās an ocean of difference between cheap and expensive string instruments. The cheap ones sound considerably worse, are harder to play, and are more likely to cause injury. If a student shows interest in playing at all seriously then a more expensive instrument is a necessity
daydark1337
oh hush and enjoy the amazing letter
Isorikk
I played violin for 15 years and my favorite was some random one we bought for $300 from a guitar store lol. It wasn't anything special but it had memories attached and I swear you could throw it across the room and it'd still be in tune.
KYGELL91
Amen. Thats why I rented from a nice used instrument place. None of this H&H stuff
Findrek
No, they're not quality at all. Buy your kid a 100 dollar chinse trumpet, and first time he drops it (like all kids do) that bell is crushing. And because the metal is so thin no repair shop will touch it. Seriously, think about what 100 dollars buys then look at how many parts, labor and R&D go into an instrument and tell that you can ethically make that instrument and ship it around the world for that price at any level of quality.
ArgumentativeArguerJustBecause
"Were they good quality? Also yes." Press X to fucking doubt. As someone who teaches music, this is one of the biggest problems I face with my students. Their parents think we're telling them to buy the pricier ones because we want to skint you then their kid turns up with a Ā£100 violin that can't stay in tune for 5 minutes and wonder why everything they play sounds bad even though they've practiced it for weeks on end.
Emuc64
This needs to be explained in a letter or something so parents understand why going with the cheapest doesn't always make sense.
McKittyNuts
Honestly the rental thing kinda surprised me. My school had everything we needed, some people bought their own but if it was taught at the school they provided the instrument, flute to Chello.
Heninthefoxden
You were lucky, I used to be a music teacher and renting is SOP at many HS is my state.
McKittyNuts
My HS made their money back on uniforms š so expensive
LordHosk
Our youngest is super excited about joining orchestra next year, the school rents from Marshal Music, a 3/4 Violin is $26 per month for rental. We went on Shopgoodwill.com and bought one for $22 plus shipping.
Chicagorooftop
Imgur is not the champ at deliberately missing the point, I think YouTube is still. But you sir are fighting the good fight.
ukalliq
No. Schoolkids generally don't need a Stradivarius, but the $99.99 Amazon special is doing them a great disservice.
jridley
You really want to be careful. Cheap instruments will severely limit a student and may even discourage them. My wife plays sax, so when my daughter took up woodwinds in school we went with a better instrument than the default rental at the school (still a rental but from a different place). My daughter did quite well. At some point one of her classmates played her sax and was amazed at how much easier it was to play and how much better she sounded than with her horn.
ThePunishersVengefulBrother
I had a Chinese trumpet. The finish flaked off and the brazing failed, resulting the instrument falling apart within 1 year.
What we ended to doing is buying a second- hand one.
TwoNineSix
I mean...you're basically complaining that instruments, (hopefully) not produced by slave labor and sold in a manner with more overhead than online sales, cost more.
BrdCdn
Quality instruments are generally not made in China.
sambaah05
Chinese made is code for made using slave labor. If the rental place used the same ones, I'd agree with you on their prices. But they usually have better quality ones not from China. The rental places could lower their rates for sure if they went with the Chinese ones, but is that what we really want? Rely more on slave labor so we can get more cheap stuff?
Isorikk
That isn't always true, but I'm not familiar enough with the violin production in China to really say otherwise for this specifically. The West has this trained response to think everything made in China is cheap and cut corners, probably for good reason, but billions of people live there and there are good people that make good things too.
sambaah05
Yup. I said in a follow-up it's not that i think it's dangerous, it's also not necessarily bad quality. But what's pretty certain is it was most likely made by workers making slave wages.
BobAllen2004
I'd be willing to bet you own a lot of Chinese-made stuff ...
Vorphalack
Of course we all do, but that's irrelevant. It's about understanding the situation and trying to make informed choices whenever possible.
Colopty
MrRareza
BrdCdn
rainevasquez
This is a pretty bad faith argument to his point, making you kind of a tool.
BobAllen2004
What? Someone comes on and slams Chinese made, when we ALL own such things? That makes me a tool? I guess insulting me you feel better about yourself, then, that's all I can imagine. Am I also a tool if I 'bet' your mother raised you better than that? Because I bet she did.
TwoNineSix
"Am I also a tool if I 'bet' your mother raised you better than that?" Yes, complimenting one's mother, not for the sake of being kind, but as means to shame, is exactly the kind of thing tools do. Also, your argument is bad. They made no judgement; they explained why the prices were higher and questioned if we really want to rely on slave labor for the sake of lower prices. Does their Chinese-made stuff matter? Should one not encourage honesty simply because nearly all of us lie sometimes?
sambaah05
I try to avoid the cheap stuff from China. I cut back how much I buy from Amazon, that's definitely made it easier to avoid. I don't avoid the Chinese stuff because it's dangerous etc, it's more that I know when I buy more local I'm helping to support good jobs. I can't always afford to be picky, but I do what I can. No big deal. To each their own.
wadatahmydamie
Yeah? Do they explicitly advertise it the way you just did? Whataboutism is so childish, it built your trumpet.
polarbearbaby
*mic drop.
sfbiker
I went to their website and they charge $22/month for a Trumpet and say they primarily rent Bach trumpet's. The Bach TR600 costs around $600 new. No doubt you can find cheaper Trumpets, I'm no musician, but I'm not sure that going with a $100 Trumpet is the best way for a student to learn.
ArchangelZeriel
Can confirm, that Bach TR600 is light years better than my first student instrument from back in the day. It's within spitting distance of my Bach Model 180S37.
Alozar
I can tell you from experience that any instrument under $300 is usually fine for dipping your toes in, but really bad otherwise. I think if possible everyone should try to start with a decent at least $300 instrument. Build quality makes a huge difference. I think it only starts to become subjective after like $1k, depending.
keraos
My grandpa used to repair and sell stringed instruments (violin, Viola, cello mostly), and he went out of his way to find both high end (had a Stradivarius once) and beginner (but quality) instruments. Sold the beginner instruments basically at his cost because he wanted to get people playing music, and he'd steeply discount repairs for music students. There are plenty of inexpensive but really nice instruments, and you're right, past a certain point you mostly pay for the name.
Ryebread91
At the same time don't just get the Walmart/$30 guitar. It will play so poorly and have such poor action your child is gonna get frustrated with it sounding so bad and being so hard to play. Generally those start packs you can find at many music stores are good enough. Will have a decent guitar/instrument and some other equipment with it to get them going.
tr26
Yeah, a guitar with bad intonation like those discount junk ones is never, ever, going to be good for a novice (or anyone), no matter the price.
Alozar
My first guitar was an $80 chinese electric and it is probably the worst I've ever played, but it was at least enough for me to find out if I wanted to pursue playing or not. Upgraded to an entry level Ibanez as soon as possible.
Ryebread91
Yup, there's plenty of vids where experts will play them and they sound like crap still.
tr26
Our HS band requires specific models of high end instruments. Itās insane.
thedarkcanuck
That's because you can tell a difference between low and high quality instruments when enough of them are playing, especially if that band is doing competitions. But if the school requires high end stuff, they shouldn't expect the student to cover that cost
Jimmah1
If they are learning, it doesn't frigging matter.
ukalliq
It matters the MOST when they are learning.
tr26
Learning is secondary to winning when your school bands are privately funded and thus the directorsā salaries are tied to championships. Why would a public school band need to be privately funded? Donāt we have school taxes for that? Hello from Texas where we raid every pool of money in ways that donāt benefit the taxpayers!
nopo
There is a lot of money in those competitions. Maybe not directly, but every award the school can point to is more potential money from the state or grants.
tr26
Unfortunately for the students and the schools, the primary goal of those competitions is to further the careers of band directors, not help the schools or students.
Jimmah1
That money is irrelevant if you push kids out for being poor.
thedarkcanuck
Exactly. And like... when have you ever heard a high school band that actually sounded good anyways?
Jimmah1
God no
tr26
Yeah, but to be fair my area competes to see who goes to nationals, so the compositions are stuff like phillip glass, stravinsky, and the others combined. One local band did choreography using color guard suspended inside giant cubes as a visual for the musicās theme of feeling trapped locked-in. The bands practice more than the sports teams by far, finding ways to skirt UIL regulations and abuse the kids, all to ensure championships are won so privately funded band directors keep their jobs
Totallyscrewedinaustin
Texas does that shit too. Also required is the $80 tuner as well as the extra attachment to attach a direct line to the instrument at another $30. That's not including the band fees and school fees
Jbelkin
You have to pay the backup punter in case you make regionals ...
ServerMonkeyKing
100% Band director or the superintendent is getting a kickback from the local stores selling those specific products.
tr26
Heh, the band I was referring to is LISD (though I live in Austin). Howdy neighbor!
Totallyscrewedinaustin
Leander is where we lived at the time I'm talking about! We've since moved out of Texas, cause fuck Texas!
tr26
Thatās coming for us as well, Iām afraid. Fuck the axis of Abbot, Patrick, and especially Paxton
volock
Agreed. Fuck TX. I left DFW for the EU last year.