My guitars

This is a Gibson Les Paul. I think it was made in the early 1970s. My parents gave it to me as a Christmas present in the late 1980s. It is an electric guitar, for those who might not know.

This is a Yamaha acoustic guitar. My paternal grandfather gave it to me in 1980. It is rather beat up but is my favorite.

I also have a Takamani classical guitar, an Epiphone electric guitar, and an Alvarez acoustic guitar. I bought the Takamani in the late 1980s, when I was taking lessons. I received the Epiphone as a Christmas present from my parents when I was 14. My mother gave me the Alvarez in June of 2000, just before she died in August.

The Alvarez is a nice guitar but a little big for me.

I actually can play the guitar, and I used to play it very well. I don't play as much as I once did. Actually I play about twice a year and that means, really, that I don't play at all.

Sometimes I really miss playing, but I've no one to make music with, no one to spur me on to move forward with it. When I feel mellow, I pick it up and maybe eek out a few sounds. But of course I am rusty and it doesn't take long for my fingers to start hurting.

Once I thought of going professional, and I used to play in a rock band when I was in high school. At 18 I headed off for a college in Tennessee to major in music at my parents' insistence, but I lasted only two days there before I packed everything up and came back home. I did not want to major in music, I wanted to major in English at Hollins, which is what I eventually did.

The guitars take up a lot of space in the closet. When I am cleaning, I sometimes think I should get rid of three of them. Who needs five guitars?

But I never get beyond thinking about it. It is hard to let go.