Dealing With Levels Of Mediocrities

Mac McGhee · Post by **Mac McGhee** » 23 Feb 2009 12:49 pm

I try very hard to get all the info I can from the forum. I do get quite abit from time to time but some of it boggles the mind. I was alway told pratice make perfect. According to what I read here, maybe not true.
Try this one:
Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs. I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod
aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the
hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny
iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit
pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit
a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter
by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas
tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 23 Feb 2009 2:41 pm

Mac McGhee,

At first glance I proceeded to think hoax, but just as quickly I realized that in fact it was an interesting addition to discovering reading disabilities. Your shortened version of your point of view in regard to practice is also rather catchy. A bit different, to say the least.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 23 Feb 2009 5:35 pm

The story about Bobby (not Billie) Koefer burying his steel guitar in Alaska is bullsh*t, and I use that somewhat untoward term because that's the verbatim phrase Bobby used to me when I asked him about it. The legend, of course, is what I'm speaking about.

Koefer never buried his guitar. During the 1964 earthquake, his amplifier got damaged, but that was it. He was involved in prospecting and construction jobs at the time and was living in a travel trailer near Anchorage. Some mud came into his trailer and damaged the amp. The guitar remained intact and the one he plays today is the one he played with Bob Wills, Pee Wee King, and others.

Okay, go back to whatever y'all were jabberin' about.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 23 Feb 2009 6:34 pm

Herb,

I read in a published hard cover book that covered every phase of steel guitar history going back to the first man accredited with raising the strings on a Spanish guitar in the 1800's. If you go back and read my inquiry, I wrote that the Koefer ?(sp) name rings a bell. I'll just say that someone who played in a road band performed the act according to the publisher. If I'm lucky enough to locate the book that I scanned at the library more than 20 years ago, we'll be able to see how much of the story is (you said it). I don't knowingly deal in that material.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 23 Feb 2009 6:47 pm

Bill Hankey wrote:Herb,

I read in a published hard cover book ... someone who played in a road band performed the act according to the publisher. .

Bill
Need I remind you of how many untrue statements, rumors, innuendos, inaccuracies, whatevers-you-want, etc., ad nauseum have been printed in hard cover books?

The *legend* is that Bobby Koefer, after playing with Bob Wills, Pee Wee King, and others, got disgusted with the musician's life, moved to Alaska to pan for gold, and buried his steel guitar with the epitaph on the headstone reading "here lies the soul of Bobby Koefer."

This is the story I've personally heard since the early 70's, from such people as Jesse Ashlock (Bob Wills' first fiddle player), Herb Remington, Johnny Gimble, and others of that generation... Koefer's contemporaries. When I finally MET Bobby Koefer, in the very early 90's, I asked him about the whole story and got the aforementioned reference to, and comparison with, bovine excrement. He then explained his entire sojourn in Alaska to me.

So, since I got the story directly from the oral cavity of the equine, as it were, I suggest that your source, the publisher of the hard cover journal, could possibly have materially erred in his research. Or got the Koefer story *correctly.*

But go back to what y'all were discussing. Mediocracy? No, that's the form of government we have.

Mediocrities... that's it!! Okay, have at it, y'all.

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 23 Feb 2009 7:37 pm

No Bill I was aware that Koefer DID NOT bury the guitar. Too many Bills and Bobs on the forum. While it's true i got them mixed i do know the event as related by Mr. Steiner (Herb) is the truth. It was either at the jam at Turkey or Wichita Falls, Texas Bobby set the word straight and it was just exactly as Herb described it. But if one were to closely examine the guitar that he plays one would probably swear the axe was at ground zero at the WTC on Sep 11. It's a mess but he does get the stuff out of it. Probably no one else could do it as well.

phred

Pete Finney · Post by **Pete Finney** » 23 Feb 2009 7:59 pm

Herb, my old friend, you obviously just don't get it...

It's obvious to everyone here I'm sure that it just doesn't matter how many decades of high-level professional experience you might have;

Bill Hankey just knows more about everything than you do!

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 23 Feb 2009 8:28 pm

I'm at peace, Pete. Thanks, old friend.

Like the Buddhist told the hot dog vendor: "make me one with everything."

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 3:33 am

Pete,

You are misleading the readers of the forum by comparing the great thinking abilities of Herb Steiner to one who has a propensity to skip classes that do not serve my interests. There is one thing though, while feeling inferior to Herb's formal education, that I rely upon. I'm just not sure who originally said; " You need not know all the answers to questions... knowing where to look for the answers is very important." Little discrepancies tends to derail my faith in hearsay. It is as if small details matter very little. TWO quotes from Herb's analysis that reflect his thoughts after learning of Bob's denial are still puzzling. The book that I read from, emphasized and purportedly stated "After 6 years on the road" just doesn't jibe with Herb's account of the player's actual duration
by comparison, in terms of time spans of playing on the road. Another item that "quakes" my memory, is the quote that refers to "soul". There would be many reasons to recall such an event, and I'm quite sure that the steel was referred to as; "Here lies the HEART of" ....not soul, as stated. Permission to reprint the page would be the quickest approach to putting the matter to "rest". I originally read the accounts from a large hard cover publication that may have been printed before the Winston "Bible" that has crossed over many barriers of ignorance and lack of dedication.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 24 Feb 2009 9:02 am

Pete,

You are misleading the readers of the forum...

Bill, if I may interject here for a moment, that statement coming from you sets the gold standard for the pot calling the kettle black. I believe if Mr. Koefer himself were to tell you in person that this story was BS, you would exclaim, "but it says right here in this book ...."

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 9:53 am

Barry,

Reputable publishers are known to check the authenticity of information. They don't publish accounts given by flimsy sources. Anything as unusual as burying your steel, instead of turning it into cash, would most likely be questioned. This protracted amelioration of mixing the mentioning of GOLD into a questionable rationale would not sway a publisher for one iota of a second. I was led to believe the information that was printed in a reliable book. Why did it take so long to publicize a denying, that such an event had occurred?

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 24 Feb 2009 10:22 am

I was led to believe the imformation that was printed in a reliable book.

Who or what led you to believe said information, and by what standards are you assuming the reliability of this book and it's information?

Why did it take so long to publicise a denying, that such an event had occurred?

Why isn't important. You should recognize that a denying has occurred, regardless of when it occurred.

By the way, your spell checker is either off, or needs some words added, e.g. information, and publicize.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 11:21 am

Barry,

Publicize or publicise are both correct. You didn't lose any time jumping on a common misspelling before I proofread the article. I more recently have thrown a response in without scrutinizing inadvertencies in spelling. These pages are not all proofread by intellectuals wearing helmets. BTW, I've never used a spellcheck device. I probably have that much over you. Not at all sure, mind you, but I'd guess yes.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 11:46 am

Well, I assume that I've found no follow-up responders to the buried steel issue. Therefore I will devote my time to articles that have a wider range of interest. Advancements made on the steel guitar that are unique and really, to be exact, never heard played before, are qualitative subjects certainly worth reciting. I logged some good energetic practice earlier this morning. Country songs, such as "Heartaches By The Number", "Walk Out Backwards", "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You", "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down", etc. I'm sticking with songs that help to awaken a few good memories.

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 24 Feb 2009 12:08 pm

Bill, your topics are like a cowboy with his head held high walking through the cow pasture of life admiring the beautiful sunset, taking little notice of continually stepping in bull sht.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 24 Feb 2009 12:20 pm

BTW, I've never used a spellcheck device.

Are you bragging? Personally, I'm not that confident in my spelling. Maybe you shouldn't be.

Well, I assume that I've found no follow-up responders to the buried steel issue.

I guess that the rest of us then, are simply chopped liver.

I logged some good energetic practice earlier this morning. Country songs, such as "Heartaches By The Number", "Walk Out Backwards", "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You", "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down", etc. I'm sticking with songs that help to awaken a few good memories.

Memories yes, but no forward progress.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 12:31 pm

Bo Legg,

Yes, and most assuredly you'd be one of the droppings.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 12:44 pm

Barry,

I think I know your method of formulating disturbances within the boundaries of winner take all. You'd best reconsider how you bully me around, and make wimpy remarks that have the markings of a deliberate attempt to belittle me.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 24 Feb 2009 12:47 pm

Bill, sooner or later you have to own up to your own misinformation.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 1:27 pm

Barry,

I've done my share of admitting my mistakes. My purpose is not finding the mistakes made by others. You would be hard pressed to find someone who has never made an erasure.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 24 Feb 2009 1:55 pm

Barry,

I've done my share of admitting my mistakes.

Bill, I don't believe that has been my experience in dealing with past threads of yours.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 2:10 pm

Barry,

I really can't make a lot by your quippings. Maybe you are fully qualified with mechanical abilities, playing abilities, maintaining friendships, and all the good things in a steel guitarist's life. Unless you come out and make a statement, I'll assume that you simply are toying with others on the forum.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 24 Feb 2009 2:38 pm

Bill, that was not a quip. I believe my response to your contention that you had admitted your share of mistakes was crystal clear.

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 24 Feb 2009 2:43 pm

Bill H. I have to readily admit I enjoyed your threads here on the forum when the plain english was describing your innovative ideas that deal with something like the vertical fretboard (that caused me to build one), the little "jigger" you have on the 3rd string of your changer. I didnt really understand how it worked but I never doubted that it did because you said it would.

I really don't enjoy your posts anymore with the utilization of words you surely have to use Websters to fit them into your ramblin' sentences, that means very little to us in the hinterlands.

Not criticizing, you can paddle around in the bull crap as long as you want to but I make this observation remembering the good old days. Now a days when I see your name for 50% of the posts in one of your threads, I get a soda, and relax with the TV.

Too bad and you have so much to offer. Especially when you were contributing so much with the steel guitar shows in your neck of the woods.

Phred

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Feb 2009 3:44 pm

Fred,

You can bet that I appreciate your kind words. I'll wager that you learned very quickly how important placing the vertical fretboard properly is by corresponding to the original fretboard. The fretboard can be tilted forward to accomodate your visual perspectives. Mine has been an absolute blessing. The little jigger at the changer works much like a tiny shock absorber. It eliminates the sudden jolt that contributes to 3rd string breakages. Many thanks...