From the AP…
A 54-year-old Sonoma County woman has pleaded guilty to charges of illegally importing guitar picks made from endangered sea turtle shells.
The U.S. attorney’s office says Qing Song pleaded guilty to one felony Wednesday. She was sentenced to 10 months of home confinement and a $2,000 fine.
Song admitted to importing picks or raw shells of the hawksbill sea turtle from China and selling them in the United States.
Some musicians covet the turtle shells instead of ordinary plastic picks because they believe they produce a superior tone.
Regulars here may wonder why this isn’t a part of the “Mindless Yobs In The News” series.
Sure, the woman that imports and sells tortoise shell guitar picks is a yob. But, the real yobs in this story are, the guitarists who feel that a pick that is the product of the death of an endangered species, is a necessary possession for the sake of their “tone”.
Yobs…
What a yob!
What’s next? Panda toes?
Another day I am so grateful that I am a Hare….
Yobs? Picker Yobs? Here’s what you can do.
Go through antique stores, looking for items made of tortoise shell to cut into guitar pick shape.
Or, better yet, look into Clayton Golds or Red Bears or Dunlop Ultex picks. I’ve heard folks say the sound is close.
And, more importantly, it’s what your fingers do that’s important, not what they hold.