At this late stage of life I find myself owning and/or having access to a lot of organs. Mostly old ones, but some not so bad. Allens from MOS to Renaissance. The odd Rodgers, Johannus, Content. And others hardly worth mentioning. And several that exist only in software.
Sometimes I feel like a kid raised in poverty, perpetually hungry and always hoping for a scrap of food from somebody's table -- who suddenly finds himself living in luxury and supplied with more food than anyone could possibly need. So accustomed to eating whatever he could get his hands on, he over-eats and becomes obese. Hoards food. Hides food. Stores it until it ruins. How did I ever get like this?
Fifty years ago when I first got interested in the organ I couldn't find a lousy Montgomery Ward spinet to play. I wanted an organ so badly I'd have brought home ANY organ if I could've found one. Forty years ago I bought a clunker Connsonata for $50 and fixed it up. I thought I was in organ heaven, at least for a while. I wound up selling it to a little church when I got short of cash.
Then, about twenty-five years ago a dealer awarded me a Wurlitzer 4700 spinet when I helped him sell a new Baldwin/Viscount to a church, and thus my modern collection began. By twenty years ago, I had a little warehouse where I was storing an old Rodgers analog, a big Baldwin analog, and a couple of Hammond transistor spinets, an old Conn or two. None of them were much good, but I was able to keep some kind of working organ supplied to the church where I played. And I'd fix one up and sell it now and then.
Then fifteen years ago, I started to have good organs at home and at church. Out of the blue a church gave me a Rodgers 660. Someone gave me a Conn 651. And another church gave me a huge old Baldwin D-422, which I had at home for a while. Then I was given a really nice Rodgers 890, then an Allen ADC-4000, than a Renaissance. Then a string of other organs followed, until today I have the nice Allen MDS to play at church and a decent Rodgers Cheetah at home. And a dozen or more organs at the shop, some of which actually play.
Though I'm 65 and looking at drawing Social Security next year, I still don't feel like retiring, and don't think I can afford to lose all my income from servicing and selling organs. But the business certainly isn't what it once was. I have enough work to do three or four good service calls a week, and I'll sell an organ now and then for enough money to keep the shop rent paid up for a few months.
I hope I'll have time now to catch up on fixing some of these old organs in the shop. It's a shame that so many of them just need a few hours TLC to become a good starter organ for a church or a good home practice organ. So maybe I'll make some headway with that in the next year.
Anyway, I'm just sitting here on Sunday afternoon pondering the next stage of my life, and putting some things down in words helps me think it through. Peace!
Sometimes I feel like a kid raised in poverty, perpetually hungry and always hoping for a scrap of food from somebody's table -- who suddenly finds himself living in luxury and supplied with more food than anyone could possibly need. So accustomed to eating whatever he could get his hands on, he over-eats and becomes obese. Hoards food. Hides food. Stores it until it ruins. How did I ever get like this?
Fifty years ago when I first got interested in the organ I couldn't find a lousy Montgomery Ward spinet to play. I wanted an organ so badly I'd have brought home ANY organ if I could've found one. Forty years ago I bought a clunker Connsonata for $50 and fixed it up. I thought I was in organ heaven, at least for a while. I wound up selling it to a little church when I got short of cash.
Then, about twenty-five years ago a dealer awarded me a Wurlitzer 4700 spinet when I helped him sell a new Baldwin/Viscount to a church, and thus my modern collection began. By twenty years ago, I had a little warehouse where I was storing an old Rodgers analog, a big Baldwin analog, and a couple of Hammond transistor spinets, an old Conn or two. None of them were much good, but I was able to keep some kind of working organ supplied to the church where I played. And I'd fix one up and sell it now and then.
Then fifteen years ago, I started to have good organs at home and at church. Out of the blue a church gave me a Rodgers 660. Someone gave me a Conn 651. And another church gave me a huge old Baldwin D-422, which I had at home for a while. Then I was given a really nice Rodgers 890, then an Allen ADC-4000, than a Renaissance. Then a string of other organs followed, until today I have the nice Allen MDS to play at church and a decent Rodgers Cheetah at home. And a dozen or more organs at the shop, some of which actually play.
Though I'm 65 and looking at drawing Social Security next year, I still don't feel like retiring, and don't think I can afford to lose all my income from servicing and selling organs. But the business certainly isn't what it once was. I have enough work to do three or four good service calls a week, and I'll sell an organ now and then for enough money to keep the shop rent paid up for a few months.
I hope I'll have time now to catch up on fixing some of these old organs in the shop. It's a shame that so many of them just need a few hours TLC to become a good starter organ for a church or a good home practice organ. So maybe I'll make some headway with that in the next year.
Anyway, I'm just sitting here on Sunday afternoon pondering the next stage of my life, and putting some things down in words helps me think it through. Peace!
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