fortyearspickn

Apparently tongue in cheek humor goes over many people's heads here. I'll re-phrase my earlier comment: "Do not attempt to cover up the smell inside your guitar or case with something like Febreeze, Glad Plug-ins, etc. It would be as foolish as using a can of opened sardines." Hope that helps. .

And you and others will not understand why the fact universities are now telling us the term and concept of "Melting Pot" is evil. Racist, White Supremacist - the usual reasons, is another danger. They are just pushing further the 'tear down the statues' program another step further.

If I have to explain what 'First Generation' means - then I suggest you should be asking for your money back from whatever schools you may have attended. And, if you don't understand what 'first generation' means - you'll certainly not understand any other part of my post. I'm shocked. Shocked I tell you.

Columbus. Never set foot here. Washington, Lincoln, Father Junipero Serra, Teddy Roosevelt. They started with Robert E. Lee and just kept going. Someone will fabricate an 'evil' to assign to the Statue of Liberty. Or the guy who created it. The people doing this are 'enemies of our constitution'.

Disney seems to own or control all things 'entertainment' related. Even ABC. Computer games....

The problem is - Our country was a Melting Pot. After the first generation, people assimilated. "We" benefited from the good they brought with them and 'they' benefited from the good we and our forefathers had created. And that Statue of Liberty - don't worry: all those folks who want "No Walls" (code-speak for Open Borders). They'll be tearing that down, just like all the other statues.

Good on you. A small price to pay for the blessings of having much better health than others. We did that for an elderly neighbor who lived alone, when we lived in Massachusetts. When we first met her, the first thing she said was "Are you Polish?" We were taken back. Later found the river mill town had basically 3 ethnicities - French, Polish and Portuguese. We were thankful she didn't think we were French. Had my annual checkup this past Tuesday. PCP said "You look great for someone 75." I'm only 74. Time to find a new Primary Care Physician.

One wonders how toxic the culture JC created at LEVIS was. Recently their Brands CEO (#2 Exec) was forced out by their "Diversity Officer" for being politically incorrect about mandates in San Fransicko. She turned down a $1M non-disclosure agreement so she would be able to expose LEVIS' lack of a 'business focus'. Sometimes it seems these big corporations are run by people with big egos who use the corporation to bask in their glory - rather than actually rolling up their sleeves to put the customer first, so the business can follow the market. Mars M&Ms recently changed their marketing focus by changing the character they use - dressed up M&M candy. Made a couple of them 'gender neutral'. Disney outfitted Minnie Mouse in a pants suit. My point is - I don't think the biggest corporations feel they will lose any 'market share' if they use their platforms (IE. advertising bucks) to modify our thinking on things complete unrelated to guitars, jeans, candy, etc. Last election cycle (Summer of Love, 2020) Levi's ran national tv ads on 'voting'. I don't recall them running national tv ads on jeans ever. So, yeah. I don't think 'guitars' are the central focus at Gibson anymore, in the sense of making good, solid, desirable, affordable ones. 'Shmoooze' is what we use to call this new business model: Marketing - sell the sizzle, not the steak.

Sounds like a Ray Wylie Hubbard song. Or close enough. Eleven years have passed. They probably have too! Poor dog - had no choice who 'owned' him.

Today - I'm in a 'focus group' to discuss Minor League Baseball for some consultants to either MiLB or our local team. RBS - We went to The Dominican once for a week. North shore. Cabarete. Loved it. Flew in around midnight our 'taxi' broke down in the middle of the mountains in the middle of nowhere. Went to return a couple of years later and American cancelled our tickets in Miami because we didn't check in a half hour early.

Me too. 4 years ago. Really small incision. You won’t miss it. I’m not sure people even have appendixes and it’s not just a scam for doctors to make money.

"Panem et Circenses"

I happened to do that once. The Controller I worked for and I were in a restaurant for lunch. He stood up and started gagging. I panicked - went to the kitchen for help - they ignored me. I went back and asked if he wanted me to use the Heimlich - he nodded frantically. A piece of lettuce shot out. A few months later he gave me an 'Average" on my annual review. I'm guessing your dog was more appreciative. He left a year later, but my new boss was an even bigger axehold. So, I found a better job in another state. That's why some people prefer dogs to people!

Nice JCv, thanks . Recorded sound appears to be pretty clear and honest for that RW SJ.... very informative!

There is a program which focuses on early diagnosis of lung cancer. Even if you quit 10 years earlier. Chest Xray every 5 years. If they see anything at all, CT Scan. Then, I think MRI if still questionable. If found early enough - it can be 'cured'. We have 5 lobes, my wife had a spot the size of the tip of a pencil in the smallest lobe. They removed the lobe. She was out of the hospital the morning of the 3rd day. No Chemo - Radiation Therapy (which sucked, of course). That was 8 years ago. Doctors have given her a 100% cured/clean bill of health. Her lung capacity was reduced by around 10%. She would never have heard of the program, if my son didn't work in Radiology with cancer docs, and harangue her to get into it. The program got a 3 minutes shot on the local TV a few years later. Otherwise - it is virtually another one of medicine's 'best kept secrets'. I think, like Mammo screening - insurance companies don't like paying for tests and exams that come back negative. It's sort of like us paying for home insurance, and never filing a claim. Which, of course, the insurance companies love. Anyway, Chief - I would steer clear of "Febreeze". It will leave a buildup of sludge harder to remove than the nicotine, and might even affect the finish on your guitar. If it's just 'the smell', airing it out - outside in the shade on a breezy day will work. If it's smoke residue - I'd get a cup of hot water and a drop or 2 of Dawn soap. And wipe the fabric down with a damp cloth, just getting the surface and not letting it get too wet. Then rinse 2 or 3 times with another damp cloth. Dry outside, brush or fluff it. On the inside of your Martin, I'd put a partially opened can of sardines. After an hour, the smoke smell will be gone. 😇

Sparky, “kickstand “…. A figure of speech, not to be taken literally. “.

Yep. Bluegrass is the dark side. Sort of the red-headed step child. That came before Country, Western, Jazz, Pop, etc. Good song - good job. Thanks!

Hey, Red333 ! How're ya doin'? Been awhile.

Celebrated first day free of pain from Demon Dermatologist face peeling using a "Red Light Treatment" 3 days ago. Face felt like bacon frying. Paying for all those years in the sun before they invented actual SUN SCREEN ! To remove potential problems. Played banjo all morning. Like MIHCMAC's swamp ash tele, it weighs a ton. Had to get a 'pneumatic air-filled pockets' strap. Regular strap gave me permanent left shoulder pain. This strap from Kliq-it solved the problem. Only play seated - but still need a strap for the little bugger.

Ghost - Best One I've heard this year !!!!

Chris, Welcome ! If I were me, I'd seriously keep the door open for a Natural equally. Sunburst might be the more traditional image of "The King of the Flattops" (maybe because the King of R&R played one), but the combination of a suntanned spruce face on the lighter colored maple quilt or flames - creates a stunning visual piece of eye candy. (Full Disclosure: I have one.) Added: Slim Pickens - I couldn't find any used on Guitar Center's website this am. Use to be there'd be 4 or 5. "Pre-Pandemic"

Em's prose clearly funny.: Poked fun, not only at slot heads, but cork sniffers. I thought the 'conventional wisdom' here for years was that if you could find tuners that weighed 0.1 ounce less than the stock ones that came with your $4K guitar? I've had 2 slot heads, albeit catgut, and didn't realize it was harder to change the strings until now. Could have been because the first was the first I changed strings on and was more concerned with wrapping the bitter end around the hole in the bridge. Maybe we need to weigh a slot head and compare it to a not-a-slot to see if the difference is more than the variation in tuners?

Coasty Chief hove to in Nantucket Leaky boat, no oars, and no bucket So he used his Martin And some headway was startin' till the binding popped off and he said GIBSON !

Can't carry a tune in a bucket ? Sparky - that was exceptionally good. Reminds me of "Sonora's Death Row" by Robert Earl Keen.

RBS... When our first grandchild was around 10, he wanted guitar lessons... but after a few months he found it was too difficult, didn't practice. We both agreed to end them. Four or 5 years later he wanted them again. He practiced hard and loved it. Became pretty good. A very shy, homeschooled person - I got him to sing after a bit along with his playing. "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" - he would't say 'damn' just in the whole darn town' . But, he later had a major medical issue surgery, which affected his ability to play (hands, fingers, control) and stopped around 3 years ago. I hope someday he takes it up again. We got him a nice Cordoba uke to encourage him - but he never picked it up. I told him several times when he was doing well and enjoying it - "Some day, some days - you will find your guitar is your best friend." I hope that day comes soon. He's 21 now. So.... keep at it for both sisters. You can never tell how it will turn out.