In the lake behind the BRC workshop, our Research & Development team initiated a pilot study to treat banjo rim-shaped cuttings of local timber with submersion to potentially develop a novel line of hydro-aged lumber. This natural process, known for producing hardened and resonant wood for musical instruments, was expected to potentially cultivate a fertile material resource for future BRC banjos pots and other emerging markets. Modern evidence strongly supports that master violin maker Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) chemically manipulated the woods he used in making his celebrated instruments, but it is unknown whether he submerged the wood in the Po River that runs through Cremona, Italy, where he lived and worked. Unbeknownst to our feckless R&D innovators, their immersion project was situated in the middle of a colony of turtles. Because of the underestimated ecological impact of this feasibility study, the R&D project was abandoned.
During new business at the annual meeting of the BRC Board of Directors, the executive officers study the feasibility of developing a harmonica or mandolin rehabilitation center (see link). Because there are no shareholders to decide strategic long term planning by vote, the board members determined by secret ballot (as stipulated in the BRC corporate by-laws) to table the issue until economic indicators improve.
In the meantime, our CEO will continue to hone his blues harmonica skills…
Quality control is dogma at the Banjo Rehabilitation Center. Our young CEO takes a personal “hands-on” approach by inspecting each finished banjo. Every rebuilt instrument must be suited to both backwoods and uptown jam session picking. Although he has no formal musical training, our CEO is a role model to the BRC support staff because of his quiet commitment to banjo craftsmanship and music.
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Our young CEO pauses during a hectic day at the Banjo Rehabilitation Center. Unlike high-dollar CEO’s that you read about in newspapers, the BRC chief officer works for no salary. In his scant spare time, he daydreams of a “Banjotropolis” new society with the banjo woven into its cultural fabric. Because of the rock-bottom prices of our refurbished starter banjos, however, the BRC has never turned a profit, and the young CEO must focus on this tangible reality.