What Instrument You Gonna Play?

An elite group of kids were those who walked home lugging the case of some musical instrument.

It always seemed ironic to me that my buddy Kevin (who was always the tough) carried a violin case - one with a violin in it. Meanwhile, I never did carry an instrument; here's why:

On a certain day in 4th grade, they tell you to raise your hand if you want to learn to play a musical instrument. If you do, they line you up in the hall and march you to the auditorium where you stay standing in line and they go down the line having each of you tell what instrument you would like to play. I was the only one who said 'guitar.'

They probably didn't know I meant classical guitar, like my brother Ben. It's not like you never hear a guitar with an orchestra or piano on TV or radio. As typically occurs in my life about every hour that I am talking where people are present, I was dead serious and everybody laughed. It always happened at the dinner table since I was 2 years old. It always happened in Sunday School as a young single guy. It always happened when I spoke in church. Whenever I was most serious, it got a big laugh. Sometimes I liked being so funny, but for the most part, I was frustrated that no one would listen to my most earnest communications - it hurt most at home. Not that I would trade any of it. Anyway -

The orchestra guy laughed and said, "Does he always do something like this to get out of class?" and my friend Russell stepped out of line and said (saving face for me), laughing, "Yes, he always does!" -As if I weren't the shy quiet type that I was.

So they sent me back to the classroom. I never made a peep about it. Wouldn't have made a difference I suppose, since they just plain didn't teach guitar in school then - certainly not in the orchestra. But until that moment, I had no clue the guitar was any less commonly found in the orchestra pit than the violin. I got my first guitar when I was about 32. I'll be able to say I play the guitar when I'm about 72.