At 05:25 AM 2/15/97 +0000, you wrote:
>"Yeah and they [the guys who polish and restore their own antennas to save
a few bucks- my comment]........ are the ones that would not pay $20.00 for
a KT34XA >installed on a LM470."
>Hank, KN6DI
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Hi Hank,
Sorry to have to agree with you... but unfortunately you've discovered one
of those truisms. "Do it yourself.... save a few bucks... think your ahead
of the game... then find out that you've done it wrong and then comes time
to pay the piper (pun intended) when all the work has to be undone and
redone correctly... but this time at a premium. Well, to all that I say..
Tough! But... so what?
That's OK too... isn't it? That's what the "School of Hard Knocks" diploma
is all about... finding out for yourself whether you're competent or not?...
whether you've got what it takes?... and the crowning triumph of it
all...being able to get the results you want and saveing a few bucks in
doing it (the antenna refurbishing/ installation)!
Really Hank... it's not saving the $20 bucks that drives a guy like me not
hiring your kinda guys [I'm assuming here you do tower and antenna
installations professionally]. We all agree to a man that you deserve every
cent of the money you've worked so hard for.
However, for me... it's the challenge of being able to stand up and say...
"Look, I did it myself.... I learned loads of things I never knew before...
I've made mistakes I'll never make again... I've saved a ton of money (or it
cost me dearly- depending on how things went) and I feel really good about
the new, more competent image I have about myself for the great thing I've
accomplished." (Honestly... you never really say that but you feel
it...don't you? OK, I say it!!!... but I feel it too.)
Then, I feel really great to be able to get on a reflector like this and
tell everyone else about my knowledge and the experience I've gained.
There's also that special great joy I get at being able to share that
knowledge when I realize that I've made a difference in someone's life
because I've really been able help! This is powerful stuff and really NO
BULL! Everyone who posts something helpful to this reflector either feels
this way... or should!
It's because of my tower and antenna installation experience that I've
learned to have a tremendous amount of respect for the guys who do this
stuff for a living and, when I can scrape together the funds to pay them
(BECAUSE I've learned THIS ISN'T THE KIND OF WORK I REALLY WANT TO DO
ANYWAY)... you just know they're the guys I'll call AND PAY GLADLY!
Then, I'll still stand back and look at that new tower and antenna glinting
in the sunlight and smile and enjoy the view! IT'S SPECIAL because IT'S ALL
MINE. AND I KNOW FULL WELL ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS IT CAN DO FOR ME...even
if I didn't put it up myself!
So Hank... IMHO it all boils down to "perspective" and "feelings." Some
people look at that new tower and beam and see DOLLARS SPENT, some see
LABOR EXPENDED... some see images in their mind of JA'S RUNNING OUTTA THEIR
HOMES WITH THEIR CLOTHES ON FIRE FROM HAVING HEARD YOUR SIGNAL... and some
simply enjoy the way the new ones glint in the sunlight.
Now really... haven't we all "lost it"... just a little bit? But so what?
That's the FUN and what's the harm?
Respectfully and playfully submitted for your contemplation,
Roger, K2JAS
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