[Dixielandjazz] RE. donate musical instruments

[BillSargentDrums at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/24/2005 9:49:20 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
NANCYink at surewest.net writes:

That's  fine, Bill. I hope you feel better now.

One can go on and on, shaming  and blaming about the budget crisis in
California, but the fact remains  that there is a need, and anyone with the
requested items can fill it  (thereby making room in their storage closet).
Recycling of any useful item  is a good thing.


Maybe Sacramento's "budget crisis" would improve if there were no live  
musical performances in existence for them.
 
I have no pity for budgetary problems of government (public) schools. You  
only have to look to the teacher's unions for the problems.
 
This problem of tying in the lack of musical instruments with a so-called  
"budgetary crisis" is bunk. Musical instruments, properly taken care of, do NOT  
wear out . . . they don't disintegrate. And yes, I know they need minor  
maintenance . . . but do you have any idea how many musicians there are on this  
list that are playing instruments more than 50 years old and play them with  
regularity and have been doing so for years? California did not ALWAYS have a  
"budget crisis" . . . so what happened to those instruments?
 
More to the point, with the exception of large instruments, i.e. bass  drums, 
tympani, mallet percussion, tubas & pianos, it is customarily the  PARENT'S 
responsibility to provide the personal instruments for their kids . . .  NOT 
the government's (read, yours & mine & your neighbor's).
 
If I decided not to feed my kids breakfast . . . it now becomes the  school's 
or government's (read, yours & mine & your neighbor's) to  provide "free 
breakfast"? Same with lunch. How about my unwillingness to provide  proper 
parenting or daycare . . . so the school or government (read, yours &  mine & your 
neighbor's) comes up with pre-school and 4-year-old  kindergarten?
 
If the parent's can't get the idea of music and education in Sacramento,  
then any assistance is like putting cheese down a rat hole . . . or better put,  
like feeding hay to a horse . . . it goes in one end hay and comes out the 
other  as . . .
 
Bill