(paraphrasing ronnie dawson)
this evening i took my niece to get her 1st strat pack. recently she became enamored of getting a "red electric guitar" like the one her "j-pop" music idol plays & started babysitting the many family kids to earn the dough. the family's been dubious since maddy's taken no interest in the child's acoustic guitar i fixed up & gave her one xmas (it had been mine! ungrateful heathen child!), or the electric keyboard from grandma, but maddy explained, "but i didn't ASK for those. i WANT this!" when i'd watch maddy on alternating tuesdays, we'd trek down to the guitar center to let her visit "her guitar" - they'd get her all plugged in & she'd pluck away (god love g-center for this). grandma said she'd pay half, & by this evening maddy had saved enough dough (grandpa had her count it out & add up what was what, tax & such, w/the calculator), so away we went (we wonder if the family kids now will get dropped, babysitter-less, like lead balloons, but once a kid gets a taste of making her own green,...) in tow w/me & 13-yr old maddy was 6-yr old brendan, who cheerily plunked all the "small" & low-lying instruments - mandolin, tambourine, drum pedals. "i like this place cause you can make all the noise you want without getting in trouble!" maddy cheered.
the guy helping us had to go into the dungeon or vault or someplace to dig out a specifically red one. he finally emerged, maddy counted out $268.11 in bills & coins (the cashier, onto her, jokingly announced the total to be $600 & her jaw dropped), & the young gal at the door gave each kid a guitar pick.
"here, maddy," i said, "put that in your wallet." she did & looked at me.
"now you're an official musician," i said.
"oh, aunt jenny," she said, giving me her funny little sly bashful smile.
on the way home over celebration slurpees, she said her stomach was doing "flip-flops." she says she already knows what she's going to write in the thank you to grandma & grandpa - but not tonight. "tonight i'm gonna play my guitar until mom MAKES me stop!" she said gleefully.
lately i'm so busy i don't know my head from a hole in the ground, but thank goodness i get to be a family samaritan these days, instead of the family butt, like i used to be. :) little brendan says now he's gonna save his money for a guitar... then all the kids can have a band. for all kids, unending music & happy days like summer, as many as earthly possible..
No comments:
Post a Comment