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My info
I am located in upstate South Carolina near Clemson and Greenville, about midway between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA.
I have played autoharp since 1975 and have had an autoharp business since 1998. My Autoharp Works was the first online
store featuring autoharps as a specialty. Thus I may on occasion reflect a certain "attitude" about copycats, wannabees,
and those who pretended to be friends in need of assistance until they realized they could make money copying what I do while
falsely claiming expertise, ignoring any agreements we might clearly have had.
I despise commercial hyperbole or exploitation of ones family situation or religion just to sell stuff. A customer should
pick a vendor for the right reasons...product, product knowledge, quality, professional service, and value.
I am a long time dog lover and am very attached to my buddy, Rufus. Many years ago I owned a dog grooming business, bred
and showed Basenjis, and was a professional handler for others' Basenjis. Rufus looks quite a lot like a Basenji but is a
mixed breed and came to me totally by chance. He is a real blessing and the best dog I ever had...a little short on manners,
but that's my fault. He pays attention and learns quickly. I have the luxury of working in my own shop, so I have the constant
company of my dog. We both have it pretty good.
I am in my 60s and semi-retired. My professional background is in manufacturing, production and inventory control specifically,
mostly in defense contracting. I am certified in production and inventory control by APICS and with additional schooling progressed
into the software side, completing any real career as an application designer, manager, and project consultant for a couple
of software companies. While that was industrial strength computing, I also became quite proficient with PCs, involved with
them as tools since 1983.
A great deal of that work was technical writing and a technical orientation, so this blog will reflect some of that background.
There is nothing florid about my writing as a result. Straightforward, structured, intended to clearly convey ideas, and free
of indulgence in language that only I would really understand. It's not poetry.
Another symptom of being as much engineer as artist is that I rarely read fiction. I read mostly nonfiction. I also bridle
at nonsense, BS if you will, and will probably comment if I think someone is full of it, didn't do their homework, or got
the wrong impression from something they encountered elsewhere.
I am a real friendly guy. I just react to nonsense, sometimes gracefully and sometimes not. I mean well and keep trying.
I am not arrogant and am not elitist but will not back off when I encounter nonsense. Having the autoharp become more
highly regarded requires some tough love on occasion. I keep searching for the best ways to convey ideas but am kind of stuck
with being myself at the same time. I can be candid to a fault. Just know that what I write is what I believe. What I may
advise is for the other party's benefit, not just a sales pitch.
My training as a Boy Scout sticks with me. I value the virtues of that oath:
Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
Reverent
About this blog
The purpose of this blog is to provide a place to present my writing about autoharps, allow others to respond, and to be able
to control the appropriateness of what others choose to offer. The intent is to discuss ideas, not personalities. Any unpleasantness
will be summarily deleted and the writer will be escorted to the door along with anything he or she may have written. With
that in mind, any contributors have my pledge that their material will be treated well, protected from abuse by me or anyone
else. The site is fully, and actively moderated and will deal only with autoharps and directly related subjects. It is not
a chat room, a place for socializing, a stage for goofy humor, a place to promote products, a prayer list, or a place to obtain
illegal copies of written or recorded music. It is not a place to discuss anything except autoharps and the application of
that instrument.
This shot is from about 1998. I no longer own most of those instruments but it is a pretty good collage of what luthiers offered
at that time, including my Orthey Winfield prize harp, the black Fladmark from Winfield '95, a custom Zephyr Hill in the background,
a custom Goose Acres in my lap, and my old faithful FC Centurion in front of my leg.
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