My red Epiphone Special.

Late Spring 2015 – One of the more severe side effects of my chemo medicine (Imatinib) are muscle cramps and muscle aches.  While I’m now tolerating the cramping and pain much better than a year ago, I still don’t have complete strength or stamina in my muscles, joints, or tendons.  In particular, my hands have become very sensitive to over-use – especially in the winter time – and there are times that I have to get someone else to help me with simple tasks (for example, unscrewing the top to a soda bottle).  The aches and pains come and go, but, nonetheless, frustrate me.

A little scratched up.

I’m a especially frustrated that I can no longer practice and play on my electric guitar.  (I don’t even try to play my old Fender acoustic. As you musical types know, an electric guitar has a much easier neck to finger.)  I gave up trying more than a year ago, and the few times I’ve given it a shot since then, my fingers just don’t have the strength they used to have.

It’s not that I was ever much of a musician…and I’m still not.  But I have always enjoyed music and how musicians “make” music.  I was, however, never one to sustain my musicianship.  I never had the self-discipline or the drive to actually become a “true” musician.  Nor was I ever talented enough, artistically, to create my own music.  But I found some comfort in the last several years in trying to relive whatever glory days I used to have as a pseudo-musician.  Even though the best years of learning the guitar – or any instrument – have long passed me by.

So, ever few years I would mess around with the few chords and notes that I know (or remembered from way back when).  I even took guitar lessons for a couple of years.  My teacher was not only an excellent musician – and instructor – but he was a wealth of knowledge about musical genres and rock history.

My hope is that someday soon I can make the effort to re-learn all those “guitar things” I used to know and, truly, find the strength to play my little red “Abbey.”  Not sure if I’m supposed to have a nickname for my guitar, but “Abbey” sounds good.

Thanks, as always, for listening…..