Sinsull, Sourdough, 'Spaw, McGrath, Bert, Whistlestop, NightOwl, and all you 'Cats who have responded with such passion (& compassion) & tact to my initial posting and each others subsequent postings:

Thank you. I don't feel abused. Quite to the contrary, I feel energized, educated and edified. It is fascinating to me to see such varied and heartfelt responses to one situation, all of them valid. As to how I feel now about my act of constructive destruction: at the very least, it led to this very spirited discussion. I am not the same person today, as I was 6 years ago--nor, indeed, as I was last year, last month, or even yesterday. The person I am today might not have sacrificed that guitar. Of course, the person I was in 1994 didn't have you Mudcatters to bounce these crazy ideas off of, either. Had I but known you kind souls then, I might have even had more success with that little guitar.

I still believe in the efficacy of a little banishing from time to time. We carry a lot of burdens thru our lives. And some of us gather them in spades along the way. You get to a point when you don't even realize how weighted down you are. At such times, it can be very cathartic to rid yourself of some of those burdens. It is a way of demonstrating to yourself and to the Universe that that object/memory/person has no power over you anymore Of course, one 'Cat's burden is another Cat's treasure. And you guys have helped me to see that.

Sophocleese: I loved your story about the 45's. That you were able to have your cake and eat it too makes it all the more wonderful!