Tone Parsons

My cousin, Shawn, is the coolest man on the planet.

He read my post yesterday about purchasing a guitar and called me last night with an offer that I could not refuse: borrow his for an unspecified amount of time.

He has a yellow Fender Stratocaster sitting in his basement that’s not being used. Much like myself, he got the itch to play a few years ago, and picked this baby up. Unfortunately, life got in the way and it sat collecting dust for a while now.

So he’s loaning it, an amp, and the rest of the equipment I’ll need. He gave me a few options: borrow it for as long as I like then A) return it when I’m done with it or B) buy it.

How can I say no to that?

I plan on picking it up as soon as I possibly can (no easy feat when you ride the bus). Then, I’m taking it in to the guitar tech and will have them give a tune up (replace the strings, adjust the action, and set the pick-ups to the proper height).

I guess this also means that I’ll be needing to find someplace to take lessons. I have a good friend named Brian who plays just about everything… I’ll see if he can help me out there (he’s quite talented!). If not, I’ve been given the name of a really good instructor who has affordable rates ($15 for a half hour lesson, once a week).

I’m a little giddy.

I’m hoping that this means that next year, when I go to Brian’s New Year’s Eve party… I’ll be able to hang out with the guys, jamming away on the guitar instead of what I did last year…. sitting with the wives, drinking a beer, and wishing I was playing with them.