Ok guys, enough piling on is enough. Not picking on Don specifically here, but his post happened to be the one that finally made me say: STOP PLEASE!
Harvey is one of our oldest & also one of our oldest members (a little tongue in cheek there), and he is very well respected within our CR community. He went out on a limb with our group that he trusts, and shared his feelings. Perhaps he could have kept it private, or kept it to himself, but he felt like it was time ... and that it was SAFE enough in Dale's living room, to gently make his point. Mistake or not, it's no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Now Harvey is no dummy ... in fact, he is probably smarter than most of us, and no doubt he knows and understands fully what he has posted, and the limitations of results to be expected from such a post. He isn't trying to change the world ... he was just stating his thoughts on this vintage bike related subject, in a NON confrontational and thoughtful manner. Now, several of our membership have piled onto him, not just thoughtfully disagreeing, but striking at him and trying to make it sting. This makes me want to leave Dale's living room until his mean friends have left the building. Ugly.
Harvey has said his piece, we have said ours, and now let's please stop ripping on him and the subject. We have better things to beat to death ... like whether or not a Peugeot PX-10 is worth collecting or not, or what panto'd parts are real sub-contracted or fake sub-contracted, or if a Triumph motor car is on-topic or not, etc.
Ciao, Mark Agree Southfield MI USA ~ ~ ~
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:26:47 -0800 From: donald gillies <gillies@ece.ubc.ca> Subject: Re: [CR] "Bisbee Bike Brothel" - a put-off? To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Cc: hmsachs@verizon.net
In article, Harvey Sachs <hmsachs@verizon.net> Writes:
> "brothel" just has too many unpleasant connotations in my mind to be
> used humorously. Too much history of exploitation and servitude. I
> can't imagine, for example, naming a shop "Greg's Gulag". or "Harvey's
> Harem for Bikes."
>
> More important to me, it just doesn't describe my relationship to my
> vintage bikes. My bikes are not just "rented" for a short time, but
> long-term relationships. I've had several bikes three decades or more.
> Each is cherished for its ride and for what it speaks about some
> specific aspect of the hobby. The '38 Paramount was launch year for a
> great product, and the JC Higgins/Sears with original Campag stuff
> duplicates my first 10-speed. The Serotta was the last of the lugged
> production bikes. Each has a story that means something to me.
You're absolutely right, Harvey! In my opinion, most of us love these old bike because they are cheap, and once you OWN them, they will give you years of faithful service, and you can TRADE them, and most of them are imported, and you can do whatever you want with them (powder coat them, take them apart, etc.), and so I therefore propose a FAR MORE meaningful name for Ken's new endeavor :
"Ken's Bike Plantation"
!!!
- Don :-( :-( Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA