Let's hear it for the Internet
Ain't Technology Grand?
© Frank Ford, 8/16/00

More than 32 years ago, my old friend, Bill Sveglini, was given a very convincing reason to stay away from his then-pregnant girlfriend, Cathy. Their daughter, Judi, was raised by her grandparents to believe that she had been abandoned by her mother and father, about whom they would never speak. Last year, on his deathbed, her grandfather finally broke the silence by saying, "Judi, you’ve got to try to find your father. I have done a terrible thing."

Judy, now a mother herself and living in New Jersey, set about trying to find her father. Typing "Bill Sveglini" in the window of a search engine, she found herself directed to FRETS.COM and my "Field Trip" article about a visit to Bill’s ABC music in San Bruno, California.

"My name is Judi Sveglini-Holland and my father is Bill Sveglini. I just had to drop you a note and thank you for bringing us back together. I had been trying to find my father and when I did a search on-line I came across your Web site with his picture and your story about your road trip to see him. I don't know if Daddy told you, but your picture of him was the first time I ever saw him. Your web site linked me to his Web site and the wonders of e-mail brought us together after all of these years.

Neither my father nor I will ever be able to put into words what a simple picture story of a road trip to Bill's ABC music has done to our lives."

I’m not about to take credit for this happy union.

But, it is a thrill to be a part of the Internet community that makes this kind of connection possible!


Update, 12/25/01 - This e-mail just arrived:

Frank,
After reading the article about a Lady seeing her father for the first time in a photo on your Web site I thought you would get a kick out of knowing that the first time I saw my brother was in a photo on your Web site. It is in the Northwoods Seminar 2000 article.

My parents separated about the time I was born and for whatever reason my father left and never came back. This was in 1945. A couple of years ago I got a call from a salesman at WD Music Products. During our conversation he asked me if I was Kin to Bill Antel. I explained that I had no relatives named Antel that I knew of. A few days after this conversation, I started thinking that it was strange that there was another person named Antel who also built guitars. I called the salesman at WD and got Bill's phone number. I called Bill and told him my father's name and then we both agreed that we must be brothers. We never knew of the others existence, But we both built custom guitars. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.

Merry Christmas, and if you see Bill, tell him Hi for me

Dennis Antel
Guitar Parts USA