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I saw this on FB.

If GoFundMe is not allowed on this forum, mods please delete or edit this post.

Sending well-wishes to the maestro.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/maestro-roge ... HqeQgArXRs

Is there a link or article yet?

I don't know how well Mr. Bobo managed his lifestyle, but does the preeminent tuba maestro of the 20th Century need a donation from the likes of me/us?

Really?

Apparently He's in Mexico a the moment, and his USA based health insurance doesn't cover him there?

But he calls Mexico "home" so you would think that someone his age would have made sure that he had health insurance to cover heathcare

I'm not going to say this is a scam, but something seems off about it (and that's from someone who grew up as a Bobo Fanboy)

I'll be glad to correct myself if someone has more details that could clear up the confusion

I've been under the impression that - for quite some time - he hasn't had much spare $$$, and nor has he been in very good health.

I heard that he fell, and a rib punctured a lung.

Someone - on social media stated that he had some money to cover a portion of the cost, but not enough.

I've never heard of "automatically receiving funds because of being good at something".

LeMark wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 5:14 pm Apparently He's in Mexico a the moment, and his USA based health insurance doesn't cover him there?

He is definitely old enough to be on Medicare and Medicare won't normally cover healthcare cost outside the USA. Yes, he should definitely gotten supplemental insurance to cover foreign healthcare costs. But, did he?

I suspect there are quite a few things that people - with very little money - don't purchase.

Melody Bobo (His daughter) posted this on his Facebook page. In case the link does not work, I also copied and pasted the text of what she wrote.


https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... tid=qC1gEa

“Melody Bobo

Hi Community,
I’m asking for support from friends of Roger Bobo in his hour of need for sever medical needs.

Roger fell ill on his return from masterclass teaching in Taiwan in late December. Yesterday January 9th he was taken to the hospital in Oaxaca Mexico, his home. While he slips in and out of consciousness his body is failing him. Specifically his heart rate and oxygen are incredibly low.

Due to a fall he punctured a lung with a broken rib.

I’m hoping the brass community can support in any way via the GoFundMe below. His dear friend Ligia Granados is working tirelessly in Oaxaca with the emergency room hospital even trying to find type O blood which he needs.
Roger’s USA medical insurance does not apply to Mexico, so everything is currently out of pocket.

We are hopeful for recovery.

Thank you for thinking of Roger, and for helping if you are able.

Cheers,
Melody”

Which type O blood does he have: O+ or O-? These two are the MOST COMMON blood types for humans. How can a blood bank be OUT of the single most common blood group on the planet?

I am not casting aspersions. I am curious. I hope that he is okay and that this is a scam, but I am guessing that it is real and he needs help for whatever reason, but Melody only did a so-so job of sharing information.

I had a friend named Donnie Bruch... amazing jazz guitar player and meticulous house builder. He moved to Mexico. He needed some medical care, and they didn't have anything very good to offer. He's dead.

the elephant wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:25 pm Which type O blood does he have: O+ or O-? These two are the MOST COMMON blood types for humans. How can a blood bank be OUT of the single most common blood group on the planet?

In many less developed countries there is often not a robust blood donation infrastructure. It is common for patient’s families to be responsible for finding donors. In Mexico every hospital is responsible for its own blood supply. There is nothing comparable to to the Red Cross or community blood banks like we have in the U.S. and no nationwide system of blood resource sharing.

I hope he will be okay.

It is an interesting choice to me, for an injured 84 year old American man to return to a relatively small city in southern Mexico... But we all make our own choices.

Praying for Roger!

bort2.0 wrote:I hope he will be okay.

It is an interesting choice to me, for an injured 84 year old American man to return to a relatively small city in southern Mexico... But we all make our own choices.

Praying for Roger!

Leaving the US for some can be less expensive in retirement at least until you need quality medical care. Lots of web sites talk about the low cost of living in Mexico and other South American countries.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is the hidden cost of becoming an “expat”.

Some countries make a big deal about how much cheaper it is for American retirees to live there, that they have entire communities of American ex-pats to socialize with, etc. They even tout how much cheaper health care is. This is even true in Mexico, where a typical trip to the doctor, dentist, or pharmacist is much cheaper than in the USA. But Mr. Bobo’s situation, if true, certainly highlights the down side of such a decision.

One question that comes to mind that was not addressed: his citizenship status. When he moved to Mexico, did he give up his US citizenship? Or was he merely a permanent resident? If his citizenship status is intact he could move back to the US, albeit temporarily, and surely Medicare would step in.

One has to wonder how somebody like him, who was at the absolute peak of his profession, could have ended up so short of money. None of our business? Yes, that’s true, up to the point that other people are asked to contribute their money.

I truly wish that there was some way to independently confirm this situation that wasn’t Facebook, GoFundMe, or other online sources that could be used for fraud in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, “the media” isn’t likely to pick up on the poor health of a tuba player, no matter how “famous” he was. Still, in his heyday, Mr. Bobo did get attention from mainstream media. I remember him playing “Carnival of Venice” variations on the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson held sway.

You would think that the Los Angeles Philharmonic would have information on his status, since he was Principal Tuba for quite a while there. Back in the day, I was also a “fan boy” and he was my first tuba hero. You never forget your first!

I sincerely hope he comes through this and gets healthy again!

DonO. wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:20 am
One has to wonder how somebody like him, who was at the absolute peak of his profession, could have ended up so short of money. None of our business? Yes, that’s true, up to the point that other people are asked to contribute their money.

He left the LAPO to pursue other interests in around 1991(?), mainly teaching in Europe and Japan. I’m not sure if he received retirement or a pension from the LAPO. I remember they had a clause in the contracts since he left on a 1 year sabbatical and didn’t return, IIRC.

I wish him the best recovery. He’s been one of my biggest musical influences.

There are several sociopolitical comments in this thread cloaked as head scratching about someone's life choices and etc.

Something that makes me scratch my head is how so many people - even though they might comment on the effects of this - don't seem to ever notice how the USA -by design - becoming more and more like Mexico, Venezuela, and other third world countries in so many ways. Just because the US crumbling to that level is taking 5, 10, or 15 years shouldn't cause people to not be able to identify it.

....Now, watch someone complain - behind the scenes or in this thread itself - to monitors about me following other sociopolitical comments with my own, even though theirs are obviously just a sociopolitical is this one.

ie: "You've got to shut up bloke again, because he's being blunt and stating facts about tangential topics that I myself opened up!"

Mostly, the topic is about helping out an old man who doesn't have much money. Either help them or not.

Moving to Central America is a not uncommon plan for a lot of seniors due to the lower cost of living and abundance of like-minded retirees. I've met a few folks in just the last few weeks who've already found a place to move, mostly Costa Rica, but Guatemala and other places are also destinations.

Consumer Reports has an article about the health insurance challenges, and from the quoted costs at the bottom. it isn't cheap.

My best wishes to Mr. Bobo. He was a hero to most of us who came up in the '70s.

Without this man having stepped up tuba technique (amazing dedication, self-analysis, and talent) musicianship by about 200%, the best playing today wouldn't be anywhere close to where it is.

Further, I don't think anyone else ever made a tuba's air column vibrate with that much consistently, whereby previously vibrating a tuba that much was probably mostly only done for special effect.

Something else about which I've admired about him is that his teaching style is blunt. There's nothing that's more clear than blunt language, and students need to understand that which is being told to them, to completely understand the feedback that is being given to them, and - though they need encouragement - don't need to be coddled and patronized.

A few people seem to be surprised that this man doesn't seem to have much money, but they also seem to fail to consider that he hasn't had a steady job for years. Just because someone is or was an amazing virtuoso and teacher - and I already pointed this next point out - doesn't mean that money is going to flow in. Further, not living in the United States has made it more expensive for US colleges and the tuba organization to bring him in to do master classes, but another consideration is that - since he isn't a academic colleague, academicians really have had nothing to personally gain by bringing him in, as academicians and preachers tend to bring in other academicians and preachers for a fee to do clinics and sermons in expectation of reciprocity... and it's not all that uncommon for the extraordinary and the super-able to be marginalized by the pretty-good and the mediocre, regardless of the industry or discipline.

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:45 am Mostly, the topic is about helping out an old man who doesn't have much money. Either help them or not.

There are so many of us who owe Mr. Bobo a awful lot, for being a role model and inspiration. But as I stated previously, I wish there was a way to independently verify the story. A search of the internet reveals absolutely nothing other than the Facebook post. Independent verification is key here I think to determining whether people are willing to contribute. So many online scams these days and the only source we have is online.

DonO. wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 9:46 am

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:45 am Mostly, the topic is about helping out an old man who doesn't have much money. Either help them or not.

There are so many of us who owe Mr. Bobo a awful lot, for being a role model and inspiration. But as I stated previously, I wish there was a way to independently verify the story. A search of the internet reveals absolutely nothing other than the Facebook post. Independent verification is key here I think to determining whether people are willing to contribute. So many online scams these days and the only source we have is online.

once again:

Either help them or not.

It's a remarkably simple choice.

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 10:20 am

DonO. wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 9:46 am

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:45 am Mostly, the topic is about helping out an old man who doesn't have much money. Either help them or not.

There are so many of us who owe Mr. Bobo a awful lot, for being a role model and inspiration. But as I stated previously, I wish there was a way to independently verify the story. A search of the internet reveals absolutely nothing other than the Facebook post. Independent verification is key here I think to determining whether people are willing to contribute. So many online scams these days and the only source we have is online.

once again:

Either help them or not.

It's a remarkably simple choice.

Not really a simple choice at all. It’s actually a three way choice. Don’t help, help, or getting scammed while you think you’re helping. I would imagine I’m not the only one who would help him if only the story would be independently verified. As things stand now, you have to believe the online sources and you would have no way of knowing if your donation would actually be used to help or not.