In the last three months I've reconnected with several old folkie friends from the sixties. They were all fine pickers and singers. None of them play guitar anymore. Some have arthritis, but more commonly it's because they haven't played for ten years. For some, Dementia has wiped the slate clean.

Playing an instrument or singing is not like riding a bike. If you don't play for a couple of years, if you're lucky you'll just fall of the bike for awhile and walk around with skinned knees and elbows.

It could happen to you. It has started happening to me although my memory is still strong.

Last night I was trying to recall a song I learned from Wolf River Songs :The Spring of '65. I was lying there in bed and all I could remember was the line "His spirit being willing and his arm a being strong, he played the Crippled Kingfisher about four hours long." I couldn't remember the melody or the title of the song. I couldn't believe I could ever remember all the lyrics. I didn't sing the song alot, and it's probably been at least forty years since I sang it. Then I remembered part of the first verse. After a couple of minutes, the first verse came, and I had the title of the song: The Spring of '65." I looked up the song on youtube and there are several different videos.

If you don't use your head, and you don't keep singing, you'll lose the songs.

Just to be on the safe side, it's best to keep singing and picking :-)