In high school, I bought myself an amplifier.I did this because I had an electric guitar.
I had a guitar because I had won it at a contest.
And I entered the contest because I wanted to be cool.
Eventually, I realized that I couldn't play well AT ALL, and this was mostly because I didn't PLAY at all.
After all, the contest winner was to be called "The Worst Guitarist in Central Pennsylvania," and this title I grabbed with ease.
I won't embarrass myself by giving you any further details, except to say that my guitar playing did indeed air on the radio, the listeners voted, and...your Little Lisa was picked.
Perhaps most girls would be devastated to get that title, but I was just glad to get my free guitar and year's worth of free lessons.
But all good things come to an end, and eventually it was time for me to shed my little rock star image and embrace the non-musical geeky girl that I am. I think that was about the time when I started dating guys in rock bands. It was a much easier way to be cool. :-)
And so, I sold my white acoustic back to Ken's Music.I donated my white Flying V to my boyfriend's band so that they could destroy it at the end of one of their shows (because, they said, it was in bad condition anyhow, yet the violent destruction of it was a horrific sight to watch).
My beloved black and white electric went to a pawn shop.
And then I gave my red bass to my friend Craig. And the amp went with him.
Now it was hard to give these things up, certainly. To do so showed that era of my life was ending. But I had gotten bored with them and was ready for my next phase, and so... off they went.
I never thought that I'd run into one of THEM again.
And no, I'm not talking about the ex-boyfriend, his bandmates, or Craig. I'm talking about the musical instruments and their accessories, like my beloved amp. :-)
But even though running into one of my old loves was doubtful, every once in a while--when I find myself in a music shop--my eyes scan the wall of hanging guitars to see if I'll find my white acoustic, my electric, or my bass. And then my eyes scan the floor, double-checking the amplifiers to see if any are the Martin Stinger I had. But I never recognize anybody.
Until today.
I had gone into Ken's Music--this time not as a bumbling teenager but instead as a bumbling 30-year-old--and explained that I needed a microphone and amp, not for the prospects of being the rock star girl (that I still desire to be), but for this practical reason: I was losing my teaching voice.
And so... Ken and I did what we had done 15 years ago. He hooked me up to various amps...and I was about to pick my favorite.
The moment I had walked in, I felt like somebody had recognized me. And it wasn't Ken. He's a great guy, but his memory isn't THAT good. I felt as if somebody else had recognized me, although whom I could not be so sure of, since no one else appeared to be in the store with us.
But, when I looked down at my feet, there looking up at me was the Martin Stinger amp into which Ken had just plugged my microphone wire.Could this be the very same amp that I had parted with so many years ago?
Immediately, I searched his square little body for the freckles and scars that only the one who has loved him can recognize.
Sure enough--for all intensive purposes--this was indeed my beloved amp from 1996. He still had the circular stain on the top. The piece of black electrical tape was still wedged into the upper left corner, and his green wire mesh stuff was still fraying just below the "G" in Stinger. How it had gotten itself from Craig (and the many people he passed it to) back to Ken's Music and into my hands, I will never know (and I don't think I shall pursue knowing).
Instead, all that mattered is that we had reconnected, and with joy I purchased him immediately. He sounded just as good as the day I had originally bought him, all those years ago. And this time, he was even a bit cheaper!
So here we are together again, this time for another new era of my life: my professional career one. And although I'm not in the career that twinkled the eyes of High School Lisa who hoped to be a rock star, I'm still a cool girl with an amp and a microphone. :-)
Update!! Today, when I told this story to my students as I used the microphone for the first time, one my classes actually gave me a round of applause! They were amazed that the amp and I had been reconnected after 15 years and just figured (I would assume) that they needed to applaud that. Isn't that awesome? So even if I'm not a rock star, at least my students sure ROCK! :-)
