music, part of it

this was a response to an e-mail from Adam, and I thought it fitting to share on my blog:
hi Adam, it seemed like it was for years than my folks kept reminding me how much it cost and the great sacrifice and what a sin it was to loose interest the accordion) that I was afraid lightning would strike me dead if I ever threw it out. And all I could really play were Polka's and Waltz's - at least solo.  There was a TV show everyone watched, usually if you were over 40,  It was the Lawrence Welk Show.  He had a full band, plus singers and older couples would dance to the music-on TV.  His accordion player and second in command, if Welk was not available for a show, was Myron Florne)(sic?). Th adults in my life when I was 10-12 years old would keep telling me to play a polka like Myron. Which, there was no way I could even come close. Come to find out he practiced his accordion 8 hours/day! .  After all, it was his "job."

I think I dragged it with me to college. My second roommate(and best man) played guitar. On warm days, he would sit on the campus lawn and play folk songs.  Funny thing:the chicks would be drawn to him and sit on the lawn around him.  No girls would flock to  an accordion player.  I had $30 bucks-enough for a cheap guitar from, Grant's,the local department store, like a little Wal-Mart. Got the guitar and a chord book and taught myself to play. Bob would make fun of me, encouraging me to give it up-he didn't need the competition.  I sat in my dorm room for hours practicing and getting my fingers toughened up with callouses, sometimes they would bleed from play so long and hard-but I was determined.  After I mastered that guitar, i traded it in for an all nylon string Swedish, all blond wood , fat neck, Spanish style guitar.  It was the lightest guitar I ever picked up.  Then on day me and mom went back into the music shop, Markem's, and the owner/salesman pointed to and brought down the Martin D-35.I was hooked, and able to secure a loan for $535.00 for it.  In it's early days it was strung with Martin heavy gauge strings-you could fill an auditorium with it's volume.  Martin only make's medium or light gauge strings today, and considering it's age, I only use light weight today. And her name is Rosie. And while in college, I would play it and sing for your mom, and friends who showed up at our apartment.  It has a lifetime warranty and I sent it back 2 or 3 times to have a new fretboard and frets(made of nickle, and each fret is"tuned."  The fretboard gets grooves in it from prolonged playing, the frets get filed down by the strings and the guitar starts to buzz when you play it.  It takes Marten about 4-5 months to get back to the owner.  One time I called them in November(I returned it in March) and was told they are behind because a couple of the office girls were pregnant and, after all,it was deer hunting season-and I am not making that up.  Whoever I was talking with was a master guitar maker, telling me how he made Johnny Cash's and out famous performer's guitar's.  Back then, they sold guitar kits-the sides were preformed and the rest was up to you-and it could take a year to complete.  I said, "since mine's not ready, why don't he just send me a kit (just kidding-they were over $400) and i would glue it together with my wife's glue gun over the weekend?"  He thought I was serious and almost had a heart attack right on the spot!  I think I will blog this email.  Anyway, Love, dad