Jaxie's Question

With respect to the question that Jaxie is asking us to keep alive, something occurred to me that I think is worth remembering, for perspective. That is, the idea of Guitar Craft courses taking place without Robert’s presence and direct involvement is actually rather recent. I did some quick research on the old Seattle Circle website and found the following disclaimer at the top of the description of the last AAD Frank and I conducted, in late 2002. The italics are my addition:

This sixth At-A-Distance Course is not a Guitar Craft course, but all who wish to participate usually have attended a Guitar Craft course or a related course, such as a New Standard Tuning Weekend. In some cases, other people may be able to join in. If in doubt, ask.

The first Introduction to Guitar Craft courses presented without Robert were also in late 2002 and early 2003. Up until then, what we could present were “NST” weekends and “Guitar Circle” weekends. Sound familiar? It really wasn’t until Jonathan became the Registrar that the position was ever much more than a glorified mail relaying station. The notion of “Guitar Craft Representatives” originated from the Guitar Craft front office, and not from any kind of assertion within any GC-related circles, as far as I know. No one has ever represented Guitar Craft in any capacity unless they were specifically asked by Robert to do so. And any unauthorized assertion, whether intentional or inadvertent, has always been dealt with swiftly.

Some of us received one rather instantaneous and viscerally negative response from [name deleted as an afterthought], to the letter that went out regarding NAFGC. In the course of subsequent conversations, as some understanding of the situation has come, it has softened considerably, but I do think it worth noting. [The writer] is prone to reaction, and prone to instantaneous expression of these reactions, but I doubt [he/she/it] is alone in the feelings that the present changes bring up.

Where does that come from? It is easy to fall into imagining that things have always been the way they are at the moment, and that every change is either 1) both a step forward and permanent, or 2) both some kind of punishment and permanent. Sometimes we do things that have a limited necessity and lifespan. Sometimes we try things and things and they don’t work out. Sometimes we need to step back in order to move around an obstacle. Sometimes we need to step back in order to see the landscape more clearly. And, sometimes a step forward feels like a step back (I think I just quoted an aphorism; I’ll have to check).

I don’t presume to speak for Jaxie, but somewhere in here feels like part of the question that she is asking us to hold.