Darn, I thought I was into something unusual. Seems like a lot of people experience what I've been feeling lately.

About 18 months ago, after a 23-year layoff from guitar, I started playing again. Rough sledding. No left-hand co-ordination, no callouses, no rhythm, no voice. Nothing would sound right Kept slogging, got a little better. Then came the light.

Bought a guitar that had survived an auto accident; its previous owner didn't. Had the neck reglued, put on new strings and tuned it to an open D (or G, as needed) and started working on Robert Johnson stuff. Looked at some tablature of it, listened hard, and BINGO! You'd have to know how hard I tried to learn this stuff back in the '70s to know what a thrill it is to do it and get it to sound right (the guitar, at least; I'm still working on the voice).

Then I started listening to other slide players (Bline Willie McTell, Tampa Red and Georgia Tom and a whole bunch more) and found their stuff made a lot more "sound sense" to me. It's opened up a wealth of new material.

And while I was still on that high, I won a guitar in a raffle at the folk club. It came with very light strings (11s) on it; again the dark world opened. The quickness of the lights let me practice longer and make runs I never thought I could. More songs opened up and I'm having so much fun I'm having a hard time getting my chores done or any books read. But what a saw-off! I'm getting more pleasure out of my music than I ever remember in my previous incarnation.

Life is fun again.

'Nuff.

Cheers.....

ddw