[Dixielandjazz] Jazz, seniors, and miserliness

[Charles Suhor]

Wow. A great meditation, Larry, on money and miserly seniors (as you 
say, a lot of them, not all). Those of us who are of an age and have 
inherited the depression mentality have to guard against it in 
ourselves, understand it in others, and refuse to yield to 
poor-mouthing, stereotypes about the impoverished old, or a mindless 
political bloc mentality. The latter will strengthen as the boomers 
move into old age and AARP, who can do great work, moves more and more 
from a defensive to an offensive mode.

One very positive point. When I do talks on jazz history at senior 
sites and events, I get great response because, after all, these folks 
were THERE for a lot of it. You grow old enough, you get to be history. 
Just don't get mired there.

Charlie


On Dec 29, 2006, at 12:24 PM, Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis 
wrote:

> Blue haired or no haired folks sitting
> around tapping their toes for $3.00 to $8.00 a seat and complaining
> about the music is too loud or they don't have a Banjo so they are not
> Traditional Jazz, or they didn't play such and such like Delbert and
> the Dippity doos did it in 1933,
>
> Hey Tom where do you find Seniors willing to pay $8.
>
> Personally I get tired of seniors pleading poverty.  Since I am a 
> Senior I
> know a lot of them and they afford what they want to afford.  The 
> depression
> left scars on many people of my fathers generation and at least I can
> understand their tight ways but they are for the most part all passed 
> on.
> My mother and father did not spend a lot of money on entertainment or 
> non
> tangible things.  My mother thought that unless you had something in 
> your
> hand at the end of the day you spent your money foolishly.
>
> You can go to any casino in the country and walk down the line of 
> slots and
> you will find the Blue hairs sitting there.  My wife and I attended a
> concert last year at $125 each.  Guess what, almost everyone there was 
> in
> our age group.  I attended the Philharmonic Christmas concert  
> sponsored by
> AG Edwards.  Now you don't deal with that company unless you have a few
> spare bucks laying around.  What do you think was the predominant age 
> group?
> A clue -- it wasn't the 20-30 year olds.
>
> One of my friends who retired a year or so before me was extremely 
> frugal.
> When we would go out to eat at the local burger emporium he would have 
> the
> smallest cheapest burger and water.  That man has about every cent he 
> ever
> made in the bank.
>
> It is true that some and possibly many seniors are on fixed, poverty 
> level
> incomes and need help.  To that end I will give a senior facility a 
> price
> break if the majority of the people there are on Medicaid but what 
> about the
> upscale senior residences that charge $6K and up a month per person.  
> They
> plead poverty too and everyone knows that by saving a buck they 
> increase
> their corporate profits.
>
> Personally I have run across a lot of seniors who can buy and sell 
> most of
> us several times over who really believe that they are poor.  These 
> are the
> same ones that will sit there and gripe about how much they paid in 
> capitol
> gains last year or how much they enjoyed their cruse in the Bahamas or
> gambling trip to Tunica.  I have toured on the Mississippi and American
> Queen steamers and almost everyone there is over 60.  They are paying 
> from
> $350 to $1600 a day for those cruses each.  There is a band leader 
> here that
> takes those cruses several times a year, takes a suite cabin,  eats 
> with the
> captain,  who is a very wealthy man and to hear him tell it hasn't a 
> cent to
> his name.
>
> I have played for events that were subsidized by cities and the 
> Seniors pay
> maybe $2 or $3, sometimes less, to get in.  They have lunch and get 
> some
> entertainment.  Some of those people, who I know live better than I, 
> are
> sitting there sucking up an almost free afternoon. This is right at the
> price of a burger at most restaurants!
>
> I think that Senior poverty is pretty much a myth but many seniors even
> though they are wealthy or have good incomes believe it.  On the other 
> hand
> I guess I don't blame people for taking advantage of a good deal.
> Larry
> St. Louis
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <tcashwigg at aol.com>
> To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:44 PM
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz is not a museum piece . . .
>
>
>> It's actually easier than that guys:
>>
>> All we have to do is expose new younger audiences to it and it will
>> survive very well and take care of itself much better than the Jazz
>> Preservation Societies have done with all their valiant efforts to 
>> keep
>> it localized and private club oriented, while the musicians themselves
>> have sat around on their butts and done nothing but accept that as the
>> STANDARD of the Industry and be happy that they had built at least
>> enough of a reputation to continue to be invited as an ALL STAR  even
>> if they can't bring their own Band because it would just cost too much
>> and they would have to raise the admission price too high and the
>> audience of yesteryear would simply not pay that for good and quality
>> entertainment even though they do pay $3.50 a gallon for gasoline, 
>> that
>> they used to pay .15 cents for  and $3.00 a loaf for the bread they
>> used to get for .05 a loaf.
>>
>> Musicians are supposed to be better at Math that That,  So much for
>> that Myth Huh ??
>>
>> Ask me If I would rather go play to a screaming crowd  of young Turks
>> with ears, lips and eyelids pierced and wearing funny clothes willing
>> to pay $35.00 to $ 50.00 each to attend a concert or would I like to
>> play for a bunch of nice polite Blue haired or no haired folks sitting
>> around tapping their toes for $3.00 to $8.00 a seat and complaining
>> about the music is too loud or they don't have a Banjo so they are not
>> Traditional Jazz, or they didn't play such and such like Delbert and
>> the Dippity doos did it in 1933,  Hell folks we weren't even born 
>> then,
>> and most of us never heard of DELBERT TILL WE DISCOVERED THIS LIST and
>> eventually figured out what OKOM music was, and we are a minority
>> amongst the 600 members. here.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Tom Wiggins   Who played Rock & Roll in a Pizza Parlor when they fired
>> the banjo band, and now only goes to by take out Pizza from a take and
>> Bake, which by the way is still a cheap meal at about $10.00, to take
>> it home and drink your own store bought Beer.
>
>
>
>
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