[Harp-L] Subject: Making assumptions, Celebrities and Conventions

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Larry (the "Iceman") writes in response to my post about Bruce Willis and  
his security issues at a SPAH convention:
 
"You have such strong opinions and you are entitled to them, but you are  way 
off the mark regarding how it could be handled at a convention. You are  
assuming too much of the outcome in your imagination. Besides, no one is  
talking 
about  <not having "gotten Bruce Willis" for SPAH>. Chris  is referring to 
his 
Minnesota World Harmonica Convergence.. 

At least  get your facts correct before slapping wrists.

How much experience have  you actually had going to and/or coordinating a 
harmonica convention? (Just  curious, because you seem to have a lot of 
implied 
authority regarding these  matters and are quite judgemental, IMO.)"
 
.....Wrist, singular.   That's odd, Larry.....since you seemed  quite 
enamoured of my "strong opinions" as long as you believed they suited  your agenda, 
n'est-ce-pas?  You are correct that I have not  coordinated a harmonica 
convention, but of course you already  knew that from our several conversations, so 
felt quite safe in posing the  question.  You were also in no way  "just 
curious" but tossed  that in for effect.  I had told you exactly just when I  began 
anew with the harmonica and how few conventions I've physically attended  to 
date, so "asking" me in open forum the questions to which you already knew  the 
answers proves beyond doubt what I've already surmised about your prior  
behavior.   
 
Given the pressure you attempted to exert upon me to "get involved" (of  
course purely to further your particular political point of view), I quite think  
your opinion of my "qualifications" has altered somewhat over the last  few 
weeks without any change in your knowledge about my background.   Now why would 
that be? 
 
Let's see:   perhaps because I a) didn't buy into  everything a particular 
person told me?  b) chose instead to think for  myself?  c) didn't allow myself 
to be stampeded into writing something I  felt was no longer appropriate? or  
d) actually had the nerve to  express an opinion on other subjects contrary to 
yours?  
 
If you are so determined to make your opinions known about  current SPAH 
management, why not do it yourself, instead of expressing  resentment when someone 
else won't jump to your puppeteer's  strings?  
 
It really doesn't take superior intelligence to understand the  huge problems 
a mega-celebrity would bring to ANY convention  -  simple common sense 
suffices, but it's far more complicated than the  couple of issues I chose to 
mention...I gave just the bare bones.  Oh,  did I forget to inform  you that I once 
worked in a similar capacity  for a New York agency dealing  regularly with 
Celebrities?  So  "imagination" and "assumptions" have  nothing to do with my 
prior statement  about the problems inherent with being a celebrity on the order 
of a Bruce  Willis or a Stevie Wonder.   You've assumed I had no such  
experience and even you must be aware of what is said about those who  assume?  
 
For the record I was well aware that Chris' convention was not SPAH.   You, 
however, were  alluding to SPAH.   
 
What seems to irk you the most is that unlike you,  many of  us have no 
political ambitions in regard to SPAH or any other  Harmonica Convention.  For my 
part, I am perfectly content being just  a harmonica player and an attendee 
there while learning and absorbing as much  harp knowledge as I can from those 
people I consider far superior to me  musically, while hoping to get better 
incrementally. 
 
 I'm not remotely interested in your as yet unresolved  resentment towards 
the current SPAH management and just how much better a  job you did/could 
do/would have done/would still do given the chance.  So  kindly desist with this 
manipulation/hitting out/sniping, and posting  onlist what someone sends you 
offlist  (in order to castigate  Chris here you deliberately chose to post 
something he wrote to you  privately, without his permission)  ... and that is NOT  
Netiquette.  Any of us could certainly play that game, much  to the detriment 
of this List. 
 
Elizabeth