I started badgering my mom not long after Labor Day of 1964. I wanted a Guitar for Christmas. Our neighbors had two cousins visiting from "Up North." They playing guitar.
I heard them stumble through songs from the radio. They weren't that good, but something about making music resonated with me.
Two of my cousins had gotten guitars the previous Christmas but by summer, both were dusty from disuse.
I borrowed one. The following weekend, I went camping with my friend Donnie Pinion. He couldn't' carry a tune in a bucket, but he played beautifully. He taught me how to play Green Green Grass of Home.
School started back the following week after Labor Day and that's when my campaign began. I promised to keep her car spotless until I graduated from high school. I told her I would bring in enough coal to feed the StokerMatic until spring, and so forth.
That Christmas, I got some gifts but much to my dismay, a guitar was not one of them. I acted like I was happy and all, but I was disappointed.
While my brother and sister had opened their gifts, my mother stepped to her bedroom and pulled my final gift from under her bed.
In was a Tesco Del Rey electric guitar that she bought from Sears and Roebuck. Without realizing it, she gave me a gift that provided joy all of my life.
I still have the guitar that I keep in a special case. A few years ago, I had it overhauled with new tuners and other parts that had worn from years of use.
It was a gift that kept on giving.
