People seem to like my guitar. Some like the way it looks. Others like the sound. Or both. Me? I love everything about it.
My Uncle Rob bought this guitar in the Virgin Islands, back in 1972, while on sabbatical as a music professor at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. It was new and shiny, and he loved the sound. When he returned to the States, he gave it to me for Christmas.
I was a senior in high school at the time, and I had been plunking around since I was 11. My first guitar was a Gibson acoustic, which I replaced with a Gibson electric, which only got played off and on because I could never scrape together the money for a decent amp. When my Uncle Rob presented me this classical guitar, I found myself playing more often with increased enjoyment.
Through the years, I’ve played it for my college Christian fellowship group, church praise bands, weddings, funerals, spiritual renewal weekends – and now as a performing singer-songwriter while I ride into my sunset years.
When I began this current life chapter in 2018, people started coming up to me and saying how cool the stress marks and scratches are on the guitar. (Hey, anything that’s 50 years old shows some wear and tear.) They commented on the rich, pure sound. They asked the brand. (I have no idea. Once upon a time, there was a little label inside, but I never paid attention to it and now the label has worn away. All I know is I never recognized the name.)
And they would ask the guitar’s name.
Well, it didn’t have one. But late last year, I changed that and named the guitar “Unk,” in honor of my Uncle Rob. “Unk” was what my brother, sister and I always called him. It’s what he still uses to sign birthday cards and such.
There really was no better name for the guitar. I don’t know where my musical journey might have gone if not for Unk giving me “Unk.” Would I have finally bought an amp for that Gibson electric? Or would it have gathered dust? Would I have purchased an acoustic guitar on my own? Maybe, but maybe not.
What I do know is that because of “Unk,” I began playing a lot and my love for playing grew. And here I am, living a life I never even dreamed possible.
So, there you go.
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