My aging brain seems to recall that I already posted something on a thread like this before, but I don't see anything in the post list so here it is again.

I grew up in SW Mississippi with little entertainment except the Saturday matinees at the local theater and country music (the good kind, e.g. Hank Williams) on the radio. My parents faithfully listened to the Friday Night Frolic (a rehearsal show of sorts for the Grand Ole Opry)and then the Opry on Saturday night. That continued until we got a TV in '58. At the same time, I had an uncle that was an aspiring singer-songwriter who did both live and taped shows on a local AM radio station. He taped a show at our house one night and that might have been the trigger event to make me want to take up an instrument (this was about 1952 or 53). My parents got me a cheap archtop guitar with f-hole cutouts but since it was so large, I had trouble handling it (but I did try). Still have the Mel Bay "Learn to Play Guitar" instruction book from that short-lived "hobby".

I listened to a whole variety of music and liked most of it (including that invention of Satan himself, rock 'n roll). When I went off to college in the mid-60s, I took a fancy to a young woman who was a classmate of mine that was heavy into folk music. As a result of getting involved with her, I really got into that genre of folk/trad/old time, whatever you'd like to call it, and bought a "folk" guitar (a nylon string classical that has no luthier name on it whatsoever). The relationship with the young woman ended before I graduated so I turned to the guitar and my new "love" of folk music (Pat Sky, Ian and Sylvia, and others of that era) with more of a devotion to learn to play and sing that type of music.

I've gone on since then spending what time I could on music while trying to otherwise work at a reasonably good (non-musical) job, maintain a happy marriage and raise my two sons. Now that I'm nearing retirement, I'm devoting more time to the music side of my interests. Found time over those years to create some folk-type music of my own and try to work those songs into my non-pro performing along with other true folk songs.

SC