A Story and Amazing Grace
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:18 am
There is an old saying amongst blues players that a guitar can't play the blues unless it has been in a pawn shop. I guess every old guitar has a story, and here is a short story about one of mine. I'll try to keep it short.
Several years ago, I was down on my luck. My business was failing and I was about to lose everything. As if things couldn't get any worse, our car was stolen right out of our driveway. And to make it even worse, my only guitar, a Gibson ES340 was in the trunk of the car. It was on a Sunday night and I had left my guitar in the trunk after we got home from church. Something I had never done before. The county sheriff called the next day and told us he had found our car. However there was a minor problem. The car was burned to a crisp. When we went to the junkyard to survey the damage, there sat our car. Everything that could possibly burn was totally consumed. The only thing left was steel. I slowly lifted the trunk lid and there was an ash outline of what was once my only guitar. The humbuckers and the trapeze tailpiece were laying there right in place. Our kids were tween and teen. It was all I could do to hold my composure in front of my wife and kids.
I'm trying to get to the punch line quickly. The next Sunday a little old widow woman named Lottie Thomas stepped up in front of the congregation and said, "This boy needs a guitar. And I am going to give the first $100 to buy one for him." With that she laid a $100 bill on the altar and walked back to her seat. I pleaded with her not to do it, because of my pride, but her mind was set. No one else came forward. Well, the next day an old friend called and said "Hey. I heard you lost your guitar." Then he told me that he had been out raiding pawn shops and he had found this old Epiphone SG for $85 and he bought it. He said I could have it for what he paid. I asked him if he had change for a hundred.
That old SG got me by until things got better for me. Storms never last. You know that. I kept the guitar and now money could not buy it. Over the weekend it caught my eye, and all of those old memories flashed by, so I got it out, dusted it off and put new strings on it. Tonight I recorded this song in memory of an old friend.
Now, a little warning. If you are offended by distortion, then please don't click the link to listen. But, it just seemed to me like that was what was needed because my life was pretty distorted and out of shape back then.
God bless Sister Lottie. I'll never forget her.
http://www.box.net/shared/7edumogkht
Thank you for listening and reading my story.
Richard
Several years ago, I was down on my luck. My business was failing and I was about to lose everything. As if things couldn't get any worse, our car was stolen right out of our driveway. And to make it even worse, my only guitar, a Gibson ES340 was in the trunk of the car. It was on a Sunday night and I had left my guitar in the trunk after we got home from church. Something I had never done before. The county sheriff called the next day and told us he had found our car. However there was a minor problem. The car was burned to a crisp. When we went to the junkyard to survey the damage, there sat our car. Everything that could possibly burn was totally consumed. The only thing left was steel. I slowly lifted the trunk lid and there was an ash outline of what was once my only guitar. The humbuckers and the trapeze tailpiece were laying there right in place. Our kids were tween and teen. It was all I could do to hold my composure in front of my wife and kids.
I'm trying to get to the punch line quickly. The next Sunday a little old widow woman named Lottie Thomas stepped up in front of the congregation and said, "This boy needs a guitar. And I am going to give the first $100 to buy one for him." With that she laid a $100 bill on the altar and walked back to her seat. I pleaded with her not to do it, because of my pride, but her mind was set. No one else came forward. Well, the next day an old friend called and said "Hey. I heard you lost your guitar." Then he told me that he had been out raiding pawn shops and he had found this old Epiphone SG for $85 and he bought it. He said I could have it for what he paid. I asked him if he had change for a hundred.
That old SG got me by until things got better for me. Storms never last. You know that. I kept the guitar and now money could not buy it. Over the weekend it caught my eye, and all of those old memories flashed by, so I got it out, dusted it off and put new strings on it. Tonight I recorded this song in memory of an old friend.
Now, a little warning. If you are offended by distortion, then please don't click the link to listen. But, it just seemed to me like that was what was needed because my life was pretty distorted and out of shape back then.
God bless Sister Lottie. I'll never forget her.
http://www.box.net/shared/7edumogkht
Thank you for listening and reading my story.
Richard