alantig
Zombie Four, DFZ
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2012
- Messages
- 14,950
Dangerously close to WEDGE's thread, I know, but I thought of this before I saw his.
Have you met the person who gave you the desire to play guitar and told them? Outside of family members, obviously.
For me, it was Johnny Cash. I can remember my best friend and I standing on the cistern in his yard with me pretending to be Johnny Cash and him being Billy Graham (yeah, uh, I've "evolved" a bit
). When Johnny and June did a book signing here in 1987, I went to get the books and took a copy of Folsom Prison to get signed. I told my wife that I was glad I was meeting him in my 20s instead of when I was a little kid because I wouldn't have been able to speak then.
Got to the signing, kind of hung towards the back of a short line, and finally got up to the man. He looked up and said hello, and I said...nothing. It felt like forever until I could finally speak, but I got to thank him for being the person who inspired me to pick up the guitar. I told him how grateful I was for that, and he thanked me. My only regret is that I didn't get my wife to go with the camera.
Side note - after I was done with him, I was getting June's book signed, and she asked me how I wanted the book signed. I said, "Your name would be good", and there was this roar of laughter from my left - from HIM. Then he started calling people over and asking "Did you hear what he said to her?" I don't think my feet touched the escalators on the way out.
Second side note - I got two copies of his book signed, one for me and one for my grandmother, who was a big Johnny Cash fan. This led to two months of lying to her about why I wouldn't loan her my copy of the book to read, until I gave her hers for Christmas. She told me for years she'd like me to take her to see him in concert, and we took her twice that year - the night of the book signing, and earlier that year at Ponderosa Park in Salem, OH. At that show, my wife took her up to the stage (they had a steady stream of people walking past to take pictures and just get a closer look), and my grandmother was thrilled because he made eye contact with her for a few seconds. I still feel good about that.
Have you met the person who gave you the desire to play guitar and told them? Outside of family members, obviously.
For me, it was Johnny Cash. I can remember my best friend and I standing on the cistern in his yard with me pretending to be Johnny Cash and him being Billy Graham (yeah, uh, I've "evolved" a bit
). When Johnny and June did a book signing here in 1987, I went to get the books and took a copy of Folsom Prison to get signed. I told my wife that I was glad I was meeting him in my 20s instead of when I was a little kid because I wouldn't have been able to speak then.Got to the signing, kind of hung towards the back of a short line, and finally got up to the man. He looked up and said hello, and I said...nothing. It felt like forever until I could finally speak, but I got to thank him for being the person who inspired me to pick up the guitar. I told him how grateful I was for that, and he thanked me. My only regret is that I didn't get my wife to go with the camera.
Side note - after I was done with him, I was getting June's book signed, and she asked me how I wanted the book signed. I said, "Your name would be good", and there was this roar of laughter from my left - from HIM. Then he started calling people over and asking "Did you hear what he said to her?" I don't think my feet touched the escalators on the way out.
Second side note - I got two copies of his book signed, one for me and one for my grandmother, who was a big Johnny Cash fan. This led to two months of lying to her about why I wouldn't loan her my copy of the book to read, until I gave her hers for Christmas. She told me for years she'd like me to take her to see him in concert, and we took her twice that year - the night of the book signing, and earlier that year at Ponderosa Park in Salem, OH. At that show, my wife took her up to the stage (they had a steady stream of people walking past to take pictures and just get a closer look), and my grandmother was thrilled because he made eye contact with her for a few seconds. I still feel good about that.
