[Jukebox-list] RE: Rockola Charlie

[Ian Zapczynski]

I would also like to add my story regarding Rockola Charlie after hearing this very sad news.  Before I found this list and one other infrequent but helpful poster here, I ran into what may or may not be a surprising number of supposed jukebox dealers or repairmen who seemed more interested in discouraging me than helping me.   My wife and I had bought a badly beat-up Rowe TI-2 on Ebay, obviously not aware it was in such a condition.   I looked around the internet for any phone numbers I could find of people who might be able to help me find someone to bring the TI-2 back to life.   The feedback I received ranged from "I don't know anything about Rowe's of that period, why wouldn't you buy a '50s Seeburg?" to "Throw it out and buy yourself an '80s juke" and "Boy, you sure got had.   Guess you learned your lesson, huh?"  When I saw in Always Jukin' that Charlie lived close to me, I figured I'd call him anyway even though he was a Rockola guy.   Let me tell you, he is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to speak to.   While he certainly told me he was no expert on Rowe, he related to me what he knew about Rockolas, what he remembered about Rowe boxes, and over the course of two conversations not only helped me understand that some of my issues were minor, but he more importantly encouraged me, making me feel as if we could get our TI-2 playing again.   In the grand scheme of things, maybe some wouldn't think it means all that much, but it meant a lot to me that Charlie was willing to relate some of his knowledge and experience to a stranger in a very kind manner at a time when kindness didn't seem to me to be all that common.    If not for him, perhaps I would have given up, both on my TI-2 and on a community I have since come to very much respect.   I have to figure that if over the course of two 30-minute conversations with the man he made that much of an impression on me, then he likely made a much greater impression on most everyone who surrounded him.   Thanks again, Charlie.-Ian
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