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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Live Your Dream

Do you remember your first? Mine was black. It was a steel string Ibanez. My mother bought it for me with enthusiasm. She wanted me to be a Flamenco guitar player but that was her dream. My dreams were filled with banging on the strings and spitting into the microphone. I practiced. I learned. I wrote shitty tunes. My first acoustic retired after thirty-years when the back came unglued from the neck. I never named it, other than "My First" but it was special to me nonetheless.

My husband understood when I was reluctant to toss it. We're both guitarists - he on bass and me on guitar. We were once dubbed the "Toxic Twins" for various vices. On our wedding invitation card, we took a picture of his Pedulla in a bow tie and my Les Paul in a veil. It was about the only "cute" thing we ever did. Well...that and creating two adorable boys that lead me to excessive drinking.

For our ten year wedding anniversary, our goal was to take the Martin Guitar factory tour - thus the family tour of Pennsyltucky.

The factory tour was amazing to say the least. Among our seventeen-or-so guitars, we only own one Martin guitar. It belongs to our older son believe it or not but I enjoy playing it after I tune it for him.

Neither of our boys show any real interest in playing guitar. By guitar, I mean a guitar with strings - not blue, green, red and yellow buttons.

Sure, our motive for taking the boys on the tour may seem completely selfish but I consider it a "Take Your Son To Work" day - only it's not my work.

It paid off. Zuki was mesmerized watching a woman glue on the ribbon (reinforcement). The four-year old wouldn't move along when he saw the buffering robot. I just drooled over everything.

All in all, we learned a thing or two. Thing one: if you order a Brazilian Rosewood guitar from Martin the cost would be a whopping sixty-thousand dollars!

$60,000.00 US dollars, you heard me?

Thing two: the factory turns out two-hundred and fifty guitars a day. Every single guitar is already sold. And they still can't keep up with demands.

"Even in this economy," our tour guide said, "people are still buying guitars. You can't stop people from wanting to live their dreams."

That's inspiration, right there.

My dream? To get my hands on one of those Brazilian Rosewood guitars someday. Perhaps at some yard sale or better yet at Guitar Center in Nashville - the sales people were so awesome and less intimidating than Gruhn Guitars. In a climate-controlled soundproof room, I could just sit and play. And yes, I promise I won't play "Stairway To Heaven."

Ohhh....come to Mama

Necks that like to get choked

Take your Daughter/Son to work day - somebody's work day

The Possibilities

6 comments:

  1. I love that you took your kids there even if they weren't interested. Sometimes a little nudging by mom & dad is a very good thing.

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  2. Next time, we'll take them to a sweatshop in Chinatown and show them the difference in having an education. Bet the 6 yr old will do better with his schoolwork then!

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  3. I'm sure your kids really had fun at the factory tour. I don't play guitar but hope you can get your hands on one of them beauties :D

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  4. Well, should we make it or live that long, there's always the 25th anniversary present!

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  5. Oh! Beautiful guitars, they are! I sure hope you won't have to wait for the 25th anniversary to get a Brazilian Rosewood guitar.

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  6. Well at the rate we're saving money right now, I may have to wait until our 50th! Gives me a reason to stave off arthritis.

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