I’m Pleased To Announce Our New Arrival…

The older boy was not the only person in our family who had a milestone kind of day yesterday. The thirteen-year-old was excited to be able to check off another item on his Summer To-Do List: “Get an electric guitar”. Naturally, since I told him that he couldn’t get one until summer, when being distracted away from homework wouldn’t be an issue, he was asking to go to Guitar Center almost immediately after school let out. He has been saving his pennies (and his allowance and his monthly hot lunch allowance) for a while now to make this monumental purchase. He had one picked out already, at the music store where he takes lessons (he bought himself an acoustic guitar about 18 months ago), but I wanted him to do further research and check out many guitars in his price range, rather than pounce on the first one he laid eyes on.

On Saturday we went over to Guitar Center, and boy was that an overwhelming experience. They were super-busy, and noisy with many guitars being “test driven” all at once. They stock hundreds of guitars in all colors, shapes, and of course, price ranges. I loved looking at them as a Big Picture all over the walls:

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He found a couple that were within his price range, and planned on getting the amp at the other store. Then I had to burst his bubble a bit by bringing up the fact that a protective guitar bag was more important than an amp if he couldn’t afford both right now. (He can plug into an amp at his guitar lessons) He will have to save for another couple of months to be able to purchase the little amp he wants. We checked out the bags and then left so he could sleep on it.

Yesterday after I dropped the older one off at the temple to set up the chuppah, I took the younger one back to the guitar store, as promised. He picked up the guitar he was pretty certain about and test-drove it again. I decided to take video, because whenever you see a successful superstar on tv, there is always video evidence of them doing whatever they are now making millions from, as a child.

Exhibit A: Tiger Woods

Exhibit B: Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake


Exhibit C: Drew Barrymore

So, knowing that, this video could very well mean much more than it currently does, someday:

The happy boy outside, just after purchasing THAT guitar:

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Mini-concert at home:

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She’s a beauty!

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Much to everyone else’s dismay, I’m looking forward to his getting an amp, so he can play the songs he’s learned so far for us: “Freebird” (seriously!), “Rock & Roll All Nite”, and “Smoke on the Water”. Should be a very musical summer!

6 Comments

  • Melisa

    Joodie: I know! How fun will this be???

    Nukedad: He’ll get there! Take him guitar shopping while he’s still saving; that will increase the money-saving effort!

  • KathyLikesPink

    Great looking guitar! (and guitar holder!) Congrats to him.

    Darling Daughter is in band – they play “Smoke on the Water” too. A classic from MY youth!

  • nukedad

    I had to come back and find this. Nukeboy1 got his guitar today, and it is the exact same guitar. Well, pretty close; he got an Epiphone SG “performance pack” that has the guitar, amp, strap, bag, etc. It’s a knockoff of the Gibson line, but Gibson owns Epiphone, so; 6 of one…Nukeboy1’s is the same color as your son’s and everything. Guitar Center sold us ours too. “Punk Rock Dave” sold it to us. It was obviously his first day.

  • Melisa

    Hilarious! Were we at the same Guitar Center? (oh, probably not)

    You and Nukeboy1 probably made “Punk Rock Dave” have completely unrealistic expectations of how much he’s going to sell at work each day. Good job! Now he’s REALLY gonna have to work it.

    My son, for some reason, didn’t want one of the all-inclusive kits. I have no idea why.