the organ builders song

 

        some men sing out loud and share

       others remain silent

       the sharing takes far geater courage

                                                     ~ arturus ~

 

when i met the organ buider he was an old man and my journey had scarcely begun.  the organ

biulder told me that in the 1920s before the age of sound when movies were silent and only

filmed in black and white he had built theater organs for the wurlitzer company traveling from

city to city and often making a thousand dollars a week.  an enormous sum at the time far

more than it is today almost 90 years later.  the organ builder told me that he had spent his

money freely and without care living high and believing this life would never end for him.

 

two things happened which changed the organ builders life and the first was an Al Jolson

movie " the jazz singer " a taking movie where the dialoge was silent and the songs were

recorded on records which were played at appropriate times as the movie was shown.

the organ builder told me that one day to his surprise while working on an installation

he was summoned to the therater office for a long distance call, a rare thing in those days.

the news? the movie " the jass singer " had changed the world and both he and the great

therater organs were a thing of the past.

 

the second thing follwed the first and the stock markets, banks and economy collapsed

and now now no one had work. the organ builder told me that this was where his education in

life really began.  the organ builder now needed a job, any job his money was gone but there

seemed to be no jobs to be found.  one day he stopped at the office of a company that

rebuild heavy trucks. the trucks like all vehicles of the day did not last long and each year

had to have the engines rebuilt and lots of other maintenance done to put them back to work.

the business owner told the organ builder that he was laying people off as work was slow and

he did not need more people he needed less. in desperation the organ builder told the owner

that he was willing to work all week without having a job.  if at the end of the week the

company decided they did not want him back they were to put a note in his pay envelope

asking him to leave or if they wanted him to stay put his pay in the envelope. either way the

organ builder agreed to accept the company’s decision.

 

<span s

tyle=”font-family: Palatino Linotype”>the organ builder found four one dollar bills in his pay envelope. he told me it was the best pay

 day he had ever had for now he appriciated it more. the organ builder told me he worked at

the same place for several years and eventually became a top mechanic.

 

i did not know at the time what courage it took to lay one’s self bare warts and all. now i

know his song was a gift if i would only listen.  peace to you.

  ~ arturus ~