Dear Bill,
You suppose, Bill, you suppose. But you are wrong, I think. The culture
regards nothing, maybe persons or people regard others. These days it is very
controversial in Germany if one should appreciate such a phenomenon as a German
culture. Ask about Leitkultur and the discussion about it.
Are you really shure, that the person who bought your lute was really
shocked? Was he not only astonished? Reasonable people in Germany like everywhere
in the world do appreciate skills and knowledge, if they be acquired by
self-teaching or by special education. Do you really think, any of the few
professional lute-builders in Germany would look at you as a presumptious individual?
Did your customer bring any suit against you? Oh, I know well what it is to
build things like a lute - great, by the way, great, such a knowledge. I
tought myself to build little sailing ships by means of hundreds and thousands of
matches. The reason was that I was not quite satisfied with the Revell-kits,
I would have the ships in real wood but in the same scale. I was a great
admirer of captain Hornblower, then. Now I like more C. S. Forester as a writer
and even poet.
Maybe you know the German proverb Schuster bleib bei deinem Leisten or
shoemaker you should not try to perform other professions. But that only means
everybody should really know his trade. No more and no less.
So I would suggest to bury words like Germanic influence and if you would
agree, there would be no more reason for me or other –Germaniacs- to
think you could be the victim of a too long lasting splended isolation. The
result of which could be prejudices. More than 55 years after world-war-two.
Note – Basteln has no negative meaning at all. The meaning is only of
a private harmless mostly skillful pastime usually not designed to earn some
money. Rather to spend them.
Of course, I should not write about all that in English, because I had no
occation to learn it in scool – to tell the truth, I was too lazy, then.
Do not think about presumtion! I only think good-natured Ralph should not be
caused to translate all that rubbish. He should sell Pouch-Boats as much as
he can. At least about that you should agree.
Cheers and grins, but also ;-) Thomas
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