In memoriam for Sheldon Smith

[Richard Moody]

. 

Back when I was in San Francisco, I got a call from a lawyer who wanted to know if I
used Jackobson Transfer for moving pianos. 
	"No", I said. 
	"Good", would I look at a piano at their warehouse and check it out for damages
done during a move, and he wanted to use me as an expert witness in a trial if it
came to that.  Then he asked me if I knew Sheldon Smith. 
	"Yes," I replied, "He is one of the best, if not THE best technicians in the Bay
Area, you should try to get him, he is much more qualified than I."  
	 "He is the expert witness for the other side".
	 "The beginning of the end" I thought to myself.   The warehouse turned out to be
that of Sherman Clay.  "The end is nearer", I thought.   The piano, was...a Besty
Ross spinet.  "Prepare to meet Thy Doom", was basically what I reported to the
lawyer, after I had visited and taken notes and photos of everything I could think
of to indicate damage incurred during a move. An insignificant, (for that piano I
argued) separation of the keybed at the corner and on the bottom, separation of the
plate from the back frame with splitting of the wood (and could have happened
anytime, I suggested), but he was still anxious to go to trial. 
	I didn't realize that expert witnesses are "put on trial" as the other side puts
them to scrutiny in case they might be disqualified. The first questions are asked
by the lawyer on your side. Sheldon was up first. 
	"What are your qualifications as expert witness?" 
	"I rebuild Steinway pianos, and head technician of U. C. Berkeley." Short and to
the point, the same for subsequent questions. 
	That was Sheldon, mild mannered, soft spoken,  affable, no pretense or bluster, the
ideal representation of professionalism from an experineced member of the
profession. You can imagine him describing a Betsy Ross spinet---arch distain, yet
in his quiet but well spoken manner. The term POS had not been used for pianos then,
but in court, in Sheldon's words it became a POF ; ).  "It has no musical qualities
I could recomend, ..... at best, a piece of furniture." 
	At the noon break, I met Sheldon in the hallway.  It may have been "improper" for
the two opposing expert witnesses to be shaking hands as members of the jury walked
by, but what do piano tuners know about court decorum. Besides, I had long since
learned you never pass up an opportunity to meet and greet an esteemed member of the
profession. 

Richard Moody 
	
> [cut]
> >... Sheldon loved his work, loved it so
> >much that he would come into the shop between 5 and 6 am, work on his
> >rebuilding (usually 3 or 4 grands in process at any given time), then go out
> >at about 9 and tune 6 pianos a day, then return to the shop and do some more
> >rebuilding work! And he told me "I love this so much that I would pay people
> >to let me tune their pianos."
> [cut]

>He appeared already dressed for the day (Bay area style or Sheldon
>style -- don't know which), and was slowly pacing back and forth in the
>lobby, with a facial expression that reflected deep thoughts. I felt guilty
>by greeting him and obviously upsetting those thoughts, but it would have
>been equally inappropriate to ignore him. I apologized for the
>interruption. He smiled and waved it off, then explained that he was
>mentally preparing for his upcoming class.