Today (?) it's your birthday

If you've read my first post, you'll know that I share a birthday with John Lennon. So, you might understand my surprise when they sprung a party on me, a day early, at the antique store. There was the closest thing we have to a crowd -- Dahn, husband Larry and their 3-year-old girl; Todd and his new wife; Barry and his S.O.; some friends from the neighborhood, one of whom brought her new fella; my bro-in-law, my stepson and my honey. Some of the local guys who always come to the Sunday jam were in there, and everyone got their share of cake and soda.

We fell in to playing at the usual time, and then at about 4 o'clock, they all sang "Happy Birthday". Got some nice goodies, but one that touched me was the little girl's handmade card. She didn't know me from a hole in the wall, and she made that for me, construction paper, magic marker and all... and said "I love you" when it was time for her and the fam to go. How sweet.

I played at Todd's wedding last week. He's the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for our little band "Five On Friday". He and his lady have been together for some time, but they decided it was time to get married. Todd wanted to have it Hawaiian luau-style, since he said he "couldn't stand the thought of being in some ridiculous monkey suit." This meant flowered shirts, tiki torches, and even some grass skirts -- although there were clothes on underneath.

Unfortunately, western Kentucky isn't as warm as Honolulu at the end of September. I was outdoors, playing solo guitar, fumbling, hoping no one would notice. If I gave them anything close to what they wanted, I'm glad, but I think I could have played better. Sometimes I really want to impress people, and I can't get my hands to play what my mind thinks they should. Oh well, I guess that's why practice was invented.