Charlie, the seller who listed it on CraigsList, was fearful, suspicious, paranoid, and described himself as a "poor" man. Because of a previous bad experience with what he perceived was an attempt to steal his identity, he insisted that WE prove ourselves honest and correctly-motivated to his satisfaction; plus we must meet him in front of a Walmart with cash in hand. He had even hinted of meeting us in front of a Police Station. Huh?!! What kind of problem were we getting into if we deal with this seemingly-crazy man? Does he want to sell his Clarinet, or not? Thank God for my husband's self-control . He decided not to fire off an angry retaliatory response, but waits, instead, till the next morning to answer the latest of Charlie's disturbing emails. Hubby is sympathetic, courteous, calm, and re-assuring. His soft answer worked, because, Voila, we are now the proud owners of a PROFESSIONAL-level, Made in France, Grenadilla wood, LeBlanc Sonata Clarinet at the reasonable price of $175 (worth $1400-$1600, Brand New). We may end up eating our words because we don't know what type of repairs are needed and how much they'll cost. For now, we are happy and thankful that this rather odd Craigslist experience is behind us. We had purchased our refrigerator and microwave oven with cooperative and pleasant Craiglist sellers in the past, with no problems whatsover. Anyhoo, we got AJ's Clarinet just in time for his first lesson this Friday, the 11th. God is good!
We ate lunch at BK, with dessert, so add another $27 to the total cost of obtaining this Clarinet.
pic below from geocities.com
ETA: The Clarinet is still going strong. We've been careful to keep it tuned and checked. Son will be attending a Music Conservatory in the Fall, God willing -- as a Clarinet Performance Major!
( June, 2016 )
