Thursday, December 24, 2009

hindsight

the guy who i worked under and mentored me at Chicago Recording Company for seven years died just over a year ago. You can read the obit here.

as much as he verbally abused me and the other assistants, at times he treated us very well. he was estranged from his family and didn't really have any real friends so he kind of thought of us as family. on christmas' or birthdays (which are the same day in my case), he would get us lavish presents. he bought me a computer one year. i didn't make much money and it was hard to buy a gift for someone who had lots of it. but he always acted grateful when he opened our presents to him even if it was a terrible gift that required no thought.

for some reason tonight i googled his name and came across his amazon.com wishlist. there are many tim butler's, but this list HAD to be his. of all the crappy gifts i got him, and full well knowing he used amazon like crazy, i never once thought to search for his wishlist. here's a link to his list consisting of 22 pages and 541 items. most of which are books under $20. i feel like a jerk.

4 comments:

hope said...

I know how you feel. So many times I wish I could have done more for someone or had just been brave enough to strike up a conversation with the new kid. I will always feel bad because I cared more about what my friends thought than how this one new kid felt when I was in public school. It was more important to be cool with them, and now 8 years later these girls are not my friends. Probably becuase I'm the weird homeschooled Christian girl, plus I moved 2,500 miles away a few years ago. But still I tried to be friends with them through it all. But I know ppl change. Oh well, sorry for the ramble. :)

Merry Christmas to you and Trish!! Happy Birthday to you!! Hope y'all have a great day!

-Hope

P.S.
Thanks for taking the time to blog and read comments and respond. I think you are a pretty cool dude.8)

Anonymous said...

I don't know what to say about that...because I've done it so many times...
you just kind of have to keep moving on, and when you get the chance to brighten someone's day, do it...

try hard not to make the mistake again i guess...

TruthsBetterNotSpoken said...

Nick, the fact he left a 22 page Amazon wish list is no reason for you feel guilty. That man treated people terribly.... for decades. He abused you and others for years.

There are others around you much more deserving of your compassion.

nickbaumhardt said...

thanks. you've got a point. although now i'm very curious who you are. i'm guessing someone from CRC

About Me

"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos; that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" --Hi Fidelity


Hey guys, my name is Nick Baumhardt. I help write and record music. I also play guitar for Thousand Foot Krutch and FM Static.

These are my thoughts on music, art, politics, food, recording and whatever else I feel like writing about.

For more info about my producing, go to www.NickBaumhardt.com or myspace.com/nickbaumhardt
Check out my new site dedicated to fly fishing - Rhythm Fly Fishing
Follow me on Twitter!!! My twitter name is @nickbaumhardt