Saturday, July 17, 2010

welcome home, Oat!

When I was thirteen, my grandfather took me to a music shop in Livonia, Michigan to get a guitar. She was big like a cow, so I named her Bessie. In the years that followed, my grandfather would call long-distance to Spokane and say, “Ellie Sue, I’ve been on the porch all day but I still haven’t heard a thing. You got to play louder!”

After much debate, I decided to leave Bessie in the states. I didn’t want to lose her to the humidity. The past four weeks, though, I have been wandering around Chiang Mai with a guitar-shaped hole in my heart, paired with the impatience of new songs wanting to be written. These wanderings led me to one guitar shop after the next, with no luck and a lot of “special, just-for-you” (a.k.a. astronomical) prices. Finally, a random run-in with another farang (who was from NJ but went to college in Spokane—small world!) pointed me in the right direction and I dragged Ajarn Lauren with me to a guitar shop in the north of the Old City.

As is the case with many shops and homes in Thailand, we took off our shoes to go in. I tried out a few guitars, and soon enough had narrowed it down. The price was right, and the pretty two-tone body was a hit. I asked the guy manning the counter about bars in Chiang Mai with a live music scene. Turns out he plays drums in a band here, and he gave me a list of places—and a discount on the guitar. I asked him what his name was. Oat!

As Lauren and I jetted back to our neighborhood, I suddenly had both a guitar and a name for it. In the days since, I have been happy as a clam. It wasn’t until I started writing new songs and recording the old ones that I realized just how much I had missed playing. It’s a relief, a release and a hoot. Every time I walk into my apartment and see Oat, I feel a little more at home. Bessie’s still my one and only, but Oat and I are on our way to something good. And no noise complaints from the neighbors so far…

Speaking of home, here are a few photos of mine, complete with día de los muertos flags:

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations, little muthah, and WELCOME Oat! No specifics on length, weight, APGAR score? Oh well, I say he looks like his mother and his big sister Bessie, and that bodes very well for this newborn/adoptee.

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  2. "Bessie" estaría orgullosa de saber que has conocido a "Oat". Enhorabuena por tu nueva compañera, seguro que juntas haréis magia.

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