So, i'm having a rough week- insurance company offered me a plan to help out, then retracted it the next day. I'm really overwhelmed by it, as per my usual money handling strategy. But something grand happened today:

I sold my first acoustic a long time ago- i mean, the one i learned on. I put stickers all over it, took absolutely no care of it, then three years before attending Mission California i got rid of the thing. (after i unsuccessfully tried to sand off the finish) The neck was bowed, uncomfortable, and it was in such disrepair...

Fast forward some 8 years later: I'm a guitar tech at a music store, and i love repairing them. Making musicians happy is one of the greatest joys of my 9-to-5 life. Which is actually more like 11-8. Love it.

A short-spoken man came in with his eager son today, with a battered old guitar. Said he found it in the garbage, missing its nut and bridge pins. No strings, dirty, disgusting, and sun-worn.

I looked at it, and something struck me about the oddly-stripped finish. The spots where stickers prevented fading. The neck felt strangely familiar. I stepped back, and to my utter shock- it was her. My first (Actually, third guitar, but first real, full-size) guitar. I cried out, "This is MY GUITAR!!!"

The guy didn't care. But i did. So it's sitting in my room right now, waiting for a new nut to be shimmed, fitted and cut. And i'm gonna have it in playable condition for this kid. I never fully realized how much the things we leave behind make an impact. I'm in shock, and so happy at the same time. It's a labour of love...

It's funny how things come back around. It's like stumbling upon old photographs you thought you'd lost, where frozen there are everyday faces and foreign places. The sounds, the smells, the split-second eternities all flood back in and you relive them, each and every one in a breath.

Feeling the neck in my hands today, while gazing upon the battered body of my old friend, i thought of where i'd been, where i'm going and all that rubbish. And though she's worn and in such bad condition, i'm glad she's back in my life for a spell. I'm gonna love the next few days of repair work. I'm just so glad. Can't wait to pass this on...