Great story! (And a really cool title, too.)

Why do you keep going back to that weekly jam every year? LOL!

Several details piqued my curiosity. While I am fortunate enough to own a very nice old Martin guitar, I don't know a whole lot about other vintage instruments ~ I've never aspired to be a collector ~ but I'm always interested and willing to learn, and you touched upon a couple of subjects about which I have a thing or two to learn.

I've got a regular D-18, 1969 vintage. I recently replaced the pickguard, and toyed with the idea of putting on a tortoiseshell replacement piece rather than the black, just for the hell of it, to look good and just a bit different. (The original was, of coure, black.)

I put on a new black pickguard ~ but if I had gone with the tortoise instead, would people be fooled into believing my Martin is even more valuable than it is? Enlighten me please, I don't know squat about this stuff.

Actually, I still have the option to switch pickguards. In order to make the $25 minimum for a mail order from CF Martin, I bought two replacements, one of each color, plus a copy of "Rise Up Singing."

While I'm at at, let me also ask about the sunburst-top Martin dreads. I've only seen one, ever, and at first I just assumed that it was a nice old Gibson or something, not a Martin, until I got a good look at the headstock. These instruments are obviously pretty rare, but I'm curious about just how rare, when they were produced, etc.

Well, glad you got your own baby back and that all is well.

(You'd probably be a little unhappy with mine, too, if we were ever to make an unintended swap. While my guitar sounds just great, it's a bit less than perfect cosmetically. All playing-induced wear and tear ~ nothing that wouldn't have been prevented by a Richie Havens-style oversized double pickguard ~ but the scratches and itty-bitty gouges are there for now and ever.)