June 14, 2006
-
Guitar Wars
Long,
long ago in a house far, far away, a young boy wanted a guitar. He had
shown great promise and diligence in piano practice, so his father and
mother felt that he could handle a second instrument. Giddy with
delight, the boy carried home his newly-purchased guitar.Once
the guitar entered the house, coveting of all sorts and justifications
galore broke out. “It’s EVERYBODY’S guitar, not just his!” “I don’t
care. I want to play it anyhow.” “He’s just being selfish.” “Why
should HE get a nice guitar? He’s just going to break it!” Green-eyed
monsters roamed the hallways and lurked outside his locked bedroom
door, just waiting for a moment when the boy had his back turned before
they’d pounce on the guitar.What to do?
Actually, all
of the kids who have shown interest in the guitar have also shown a bit
of talent. Libby actually composed a really nice song with the three
chords she’s mastered. (Well, I was impressed with how nice it
sounded, and I tend to be a cynical, old coot.) I suppose at least one
more guitar will find its stringy way to our house. Wonder what’s for
sale on Ebay…?We are all recovered/recovering from our
weekend of fun. I was planting some hosta around the pool today and
everything kept going black when I’d bend over. I haven’t had that
happen in a long while. I doctored myself with a caffeinated
Pepsi and a bowl of Jax cheese twists and lay on a lounge chair for
about ten minutes. I think I need to just lounge around all afternoon
and read. (A girl can dream, can’t she?)I undertook a sort-of
fun project today. Rachel can’t seem to ever match any of her shirts
and shorts and usually comes downstairs looking like a rag bag. So, I
took all of her clothes and then laid out matching outfits (two at a
time) on the bed and took a picture. If she had several things that
would match a pair of shorts or shirt, I laid them all together. I’m
going to have prints made and put them in a mini-album for her. Then,
when she wants to get dressed, she can look through her book and choose
an acceptable outfit. She’s thrilled with the whole idea.I read Elie Weisel’s Night, and I’d love to chat about it with anyone who might be interested…Ruth?
Comments (6)
Wait! Save yourself the shipping! The PHAA conference is soon and I really don’t need them before then. Really, I won’t be needing them soon.
And, I’d discuss Night with you, save the fact that I decided not to read that this year. The Holocaust just isn’t my thing. I enjoyed The House on Mango Street much more.
The trick is to get the interested child to buy one with his own money… Like my parents are doing
(and not just one guitar, both an acoustic and an electric with all the necessary accessories (cases, extra strings, amps, shoulder straps, tuner, picks…) Perhaps you could put in a good word for me and suggest I have a blooming talent and it would be a shame to make me pay for all of it at the start of my career?)
Buy nothing on Ebay! Mailed guitars have a tendency to break into pieces when you play them for the first time.
And I’m about to E-mail you those pictures, never fear.
She can be that way sometimes too. I guess suffering is the price of Great Art. I’ll be sending what pictures I have too – you want them in email or on a dvd?
I’m sure my mom wishes I would do something like that. I however, remain firmly committed to my policy of taking whatever’s comfortable and at the top of my (usually unfolded) laundry pile.
One of my dad’s army buddies met Elie Wiesel. He was in my dad’s squadron and was sent on a mission during the battle of the bulge. Dad recalls he thought to himself, “That’s probably the last I’ll see of Don.” Sure enough, he didn’t return. He didn’t even know he was alive until he saw his story in the 100th Division newsletter. Miraculously he wasn’t killed but captured instead. His name sounded Jewish to the Nazis, so instead of going to a POW camp, they put him in a work camp. (This was near the end of the war.) He very nearly died from starvation but the prison was abandoned and they started marching him away from the advancing front when they were overtaken by Americans. He begged a passing tank for food, but found he was too weak to pick up the box of rations and couldn’t get up off the ground. Later he met Elie Wiesel at some function about the holocaust in California.
Re. the guitar. My nephew’s first guitar was a really cheap one from Montgomery Ward that my brother bought many years before. He has several CD’s out now. You can get a second clunker.
That’s an excellent idea about the pictures of the outfits.
Hmmm…pictures of outfits. I’ll have to remember that for my dear husband. That way I won’t have to put so much energy in on Sunday mornings when he asks for suggestions about what to wear to church. Thanks for the great idea!