HA!

Bet you thought that I was going to say that I was finally over this writing every day. Not gonna happen any time soon, kids.

Though tonight is a little later than usual. I spent the better portion of this evening playing guitar…well…rather thumping around on the guitar. The sounds that I make when I am hitting the strings on that instrument sometimes make to dogs in the neighborhood cringe and start barking because I am hurting their ears.

Screw em. They spend most of the time I am just sitting on the patio barking at leaves blowing past….

When I was first learning how to play, and I am pretty sure that I have discussed this in a previous post way, way back…I’m just not going to go look for it because the temptation of insert that post here thereby fulfilling my 500 word commitment would be too…..tempting. I have very little will power at times.

Anyhoo….having wandered down a rabbit hole….when I first taught myself some basic chords on the guitar I used to wait greedily for the Chicago Tribune Sunday edition. We lived in southwest Michigan but my father was a voracious reader. Both of my parents read constantly. We had two newspapers that we bought daily from the local store. The Herald-Palladium out of Benton Harbor, and the South Bend Tribune. My dad also picked up the Detroit Free Press so that he had something to read when he took time for lunch. On Sunday we would get the Free Press, The South Bend paper, and the one that I waited so greedily for….The Chicago Tribune. Why did I wait for that particular paper? Because in the Entertainment section they would post the chords and lyrics to popular songs.

Oh be still my beating heart. A free, readily available source of music. Emphasis on FREE….. My middle brother informed me of this treasure. Well, he didn’t actually point it out. He  was looking for it also, and I just happened to see what he was doing and picked up on it.

I was a sneaky little bastard. Well, not so little but I again digress.

“Solitary Man” by Neil Diamond was the first song I learned. I played the living daylights out of that song. Then whenever I could scrounge some money together I would buy a book of music by various artists. And since I never really scrounged a lot of money, I would go to music stores, find a song book I was interested in, and memorize the chords.

Remember, I admitted that I was sneaky.

Music is a strange thing. For some people it is just something that they sing to in the car, or in the shower. For others, we not only have to sing along, we have to make our own. We have to be a part of the process. My parents gave me a huge life long gift when they allowed, and encouraged my being involved in music when I was in school I suffered at times learning to process of playing. It doesn’t always come easily. You have to keep trying. Practice, practice, practice. Not every note you play is perfect. One out of 100 maybe. The goal is to make it 2, and then 3. There is nothing so sweet than a string of perfect notes.

All because of not giving up. Never giving up. Thank you, Mom and Dad.

Never give up.