In the early part of the '60's I had no idea what a mandolin was. Then I happened to hear one played in Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass' "The Lonely Bull." I was quite taken with how much the simple addition of a phrase or two of that instrument, (having asked someone what the heck it was!) added to the tune. I vowed to get one. I finally talked my folks into going with me to a music shop to investigate further. The shop only had three of them - all Gibsons and all in the $250 - $350 range. This was by far more than my parents were willing to spend and so the project was abandoned. "After all," they told me, "you do already have a guitar."

By then I had been playing guitar for about three years. I'm kinda glad things worked out the way they did. But I still hang onto the desire to own a mandolin. Maybe someday ...