DanvillRob

My Dad was drafted at 21 before WWII, (he was in Alaska when Pearl Harbor was bombed). He was in until the end of the war, (@ 6 years). I got drafted at 19, (5 days before my 20th birthday). I was in for less than 2 years.... drafted in August, in 'Nam early January. So we were both Army.... him 'Brown Shoe' army, me jungle trained army.

Born in Hayward, CA...my parents lived with my Great Grandparents in Castro Valley. We moved to Oakland when I was about 3. We moved to Centerville, CA in 1954. Centerville became part of Fremont, CA in 1956. ALL my uncles/cousin played guitars.... almost every weekend there'd be a jam session at someone's house. I got my own guitar when I was 12. When The Beatles hit....I was bowled over.... started a band in 1964. Been playing ever since. Thank God my hands still work good enough to play some.

My guitars are kept just as you see them in the video....except for maybe the one I practice with each morning. I was mainly using my J-50....but my chiropractor suggested I use the Jubilee for practice to help with the bursitis in my right shoulder, (smaller body). So, unless someone is coming over, I keep the Jubilee in it's case leaned up against the piano in the family room.

Well, of course I was in the 'Big One' in 1989, (Loma Prieta), and you couldn't be anywhere in the SF Bay Area and not felt it. At the time my house was right on a cliff, (nice straight view of SF Bay), and I was in the back yard getting ready to watch the World Series. Never been in one that strong before. Was very eerie..... we could see SF from the top of our street.....and at night it was TOTALLY dark! I just happened to be in Napa when the 6.0 quake hit in 2014.... but we were in the motor home, so we just rock 'n rolled....nothing fell, no damage.

That's how Leslie kept her guitars.....she lives in Napa....and when the big earthquake hit there, her Hummingbird 12-String fell off the wall and broke the headstock off!

RBS, in our son's old room, there was the 'normal' clothes hanger rod....then there was a lower rod for hanging short clothes. I left the upper rod in so I could hang my several guitar stands, and moved the lower rod to the back of the closet so it could be a resting place for the guitar cases when I leaned them up against the wall, (so no marks on the closet wall). You can see the area in this short video:

Sounds wonderful! I add cinnamon to my coffee.

No... this is it....I generally buy the blue cans (5.5% alcohol) or the black cans (8% alcohol). I stay away from the "gluten free" stuff or the cranberry stuff. https://www.meijer.com/shopping/product/the-finnish-long-drink-traditional-6pk--12oz/86027200144.html?&cmpid=SEM:LIA:402501250:1263339722041171:[search:]:Bing&gclid=5f2a39d276bc1a43c22c5d64d90383a4&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=5f2a39d276bc1a43c22c5d64d90383a4&gclid=5f2a39d276bc1a43c22c5d64d90383a4&gclsrc=3p.ds

My doctor (who has NO sense of humor) asked me what a Long Drink was....I told him..... Gin, Juniper and grapefruit drink.... about 8% alcohol (if you get the black can).....and of course, a Gin & Tonic.....then he said, "You like your gin, eh?"

As Willie says, "But there's more ol’ drunks than there are ol’ doctors, So I guess we'd better have another round."

I religiously get a physical every year..... I get my results this afternoon....but so far all the tests are good. I've noticed my blood pressure has increased...with years? with weight? Not sure.

Just wonderful! How fun to play with others....I miss that. You sounded great! You look very comfortable up there.

My doctor is not pleased with my alcohol intake..... I usually have a Long Drink, (from Finland), during dinner and a Gin & Tonic after dinner....he said that's too much. I NEVER get drunk, and don't feel like I have an alcohol problem....but who knows?

God Bless your recovery.... all our lives are complicated....and none of us are or were perfect!

I agree.... both my parents have been gone for quite a while..... thought I'd never have grandkids....then our only son 'woke up', got sober, finished college, got various jobs in the IT sect....now a manager at Apple.....three wonderful grandkids..... I have a beautiful and loving wife (45 years), living comfortably on my investments from a career that lasted 53 years...I'm rich man!

Seems right. I'd be surprised by what various people define as "rich".....probably as varied as our coffee rigs!

Not really... grew up poorer than most.... Dad was a Redi-Mix driver....there were 5 of us kids, plus we always had at least one spare. Mom didn't work. Just a working guy who's retired now....living on my investments and social security, (plus a little from my old job).

It’s all relative……I mean if your relatives have money, $4k isn’t that much!

My grandfather, (born 4-20-1889) was a man of few words....and even fewer jokes. He once told me, "Some folks the older they get the wiser they get...other's, the older they get, the older they get."

Inflation.....I LOVE my Doves..... one is very special because my bride gave it to me back when we struggled to pay for our son to be born.... The DIF I bought with the intent to give it to my (at that time) unborn grandson. I showed it to him last week and told him how special that guitar is.....I told him he could have it when I can no longer play. $4K isn't that much these days!

Not only that....do you know how FAR it is from the kitchen to our bedroom? The coffee is actually even farther away in the bar. The bar is in the family room....so you can't possibly get farther away unless I'm taking coffee to our bathroom.

I only buy the coffee she likes.....but heck if I know what it is..... comes in a purple bag....from Safeway. (I now do all the grocery shopping).

I don't think so.... I'll have to try it when I can.

It's amazing (sad?) how many brands we used to know are gone. I wasn't a coffee drinker until I started working graveyard shift at MACK Trucks....now I look forward to the three small mugs I drink every morning. I serve my wife her coffee in bed each morning, used to be only on weekends, but since I'm retired, now it's every day.

As Hyman Roth said in "The Godfather", "I'm a retired investor living on a pension."