Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Prodigal Cymbal

I have a very crazy story to tell.
But..
Let's first discuss the importance of cymbals.

Good cymbals are made by hand. Not by machines. Craftsmen who make cymbals are skilled artists. It's like ppl who carve stuff out of wood. You can't make that in a factory.
Zildjian is the oldest family-owned company in the world and in history. They've been keeping the family name and making cymbals longer than any other product by any other company in the world. It's like 400 yrs or something like that.
The alloy of the mix of metals used to make the cymbals is one of the
oldest secrets in the world.
Also, cymbals are all unique. Two Zildjian A-Custom 16inch crash cymbals will sound different even if they're the exact same model.

I have a cymbal that is very dear to me; cost/value of about $288.
It's not only expensive, but it also has an all-inclusive warranty
attached to it that will last about 3 more years.

I had the cymbal in a round cymbal case. I took a subway and I was
about to take the bus home when I realized the bag wasn't on my
shoulder.
My heart dropped.
My face turned green.
My stomach churned.
My life almost ended.
I ran back down to the subway station and told the security guard to call the subway car driver to check to see if I left it on the train.
I waited for the reply over the walkie-talkie.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
It was the longest 3 minutes of my life.

"that's a negative on the pocket book"

They thought my bag was a purse.
I was suddenly calm.
I might've left it on the bench I was sitting on when waiting for the subway train, just one stop back. I got back on the train, paced back and forth while riding. I ran to where I was sitting and didn't see the bag. I almost cried.

But there. In the corner.
There it was.
I felt like I was in heaven.
The bag was opened. Someone was probing to check for any valuables.

They probably said, "It's nothing."

"Just a piece of metal."

2 comments:

Tony U said...

you know, I would've given up as soon as I noticed it was lost. Situations like that I don't even try and accept it as a loss. As valuable as it may be to me. Maybe I should do the same if I were in a similar situation next time. Nice story man. Glad you were able to find the cymbal
PS I had a $300 Zildjian ride cymbal and let someone hold it, lost contact with that person. To me it was more of a loss than the drum set itself-which I also lent out, cheap set; forgot the name (something percussion)-so I can relate some, even though you might appreciate cymbals more than me because you're more informed and a pro drummer.

Unknown said...

After the intensive data transfer about cymbals you gave in me in crown chicken I can relate to the pain. It is a wonderful story to tell kids from generation to come!

I went back for a calling card $2 I threw by mistake in the garbage while keeping the other part I meant to dispose. It was there unused! The best conversation ever.