[Rick Sutton]

Originally Posted by Dean Roddey

I met my CL-1B in a little sidewalk cafe in Rome in '98. It was early summer and the sun was turning the old ivy covered walls golden, and there was a faint scent of jasmine in the light breeze. I wasn't looking for a compressor. In fact I was there because I'd just let a compressor go, and I needed to just get away and have time to digest the whole experience and put it into perspective, and frankly I was feeling a little bitter.

But then, I looked up, and there it was. I'll never forget it. I was just frozen in my seat and couldn't move. Everyone in the whole place was looking at it, and clearly it was way out of my league. But, it immediately became obvious who those tubes were glowing for. I could feel the resentment from the other guys in the cafe. Damn Americans coming over here with their exotic accents and taking all the hot compressors.

It's something I'm sure I'll be thinking about as lie on my deathbed. One of those experiences that made the whole stupid charade all worth it.

Be careful Dean, that glow is enticing but you can get burned.