How Sweet The Sound

• Are You Serious?
• More On The Wound Check, As Perhaps It Relates To Subsequent Events More Than Previously Surmised
  

I Get Dressed
When I had limped my way to the LSU Interim Hospital Emergency place (to get my wound dressed), there was; standing out front a young man wearing flip-flops and grey shorts.
I dug 30 cents out of my pocket and offered it to him for a cigarette such as he had in his mouth; if he had it.
He refused to take the 30 cents; giving me a pretty decent brand of smoke; and then we conversed.
He had what I recognized as eczema around his nose; red under-skin with flaking exfoliating skin on top.
I would have eczema myself, most assuredly, had I not discovered what produced it in me to be certain foods, mostly oils like soybean, but I don't do well with eggs or milk either.
Spiritual Aspect (the)
I have always thought, in a spiritual sense that this was my body manifesting its outrage over having been separated from my biological mother as an infant; and having breast milk replaced, by the beloved parents who adopted me, with those very baby-formula ingredients. Read the can: Cows milk, soybean oil, and sugar and vanilla.
The vanilla did kind of grow on me.
If I tried to live on the other ingredients, my life would be full of anti-histamines, skin creams and appearing not quite healthy despite them.
So, I struck up a conversation with Aaron, as that was his name, just to pass along my wisdom about the condition that was afflicting his face around his nose.
I found out that he had cancer.
I told him everything that I knew about eczema and the relationship that I had discovered it to have to diet. I let him use my phone to call his transportation people.

"God bless you," he said, as I walked off.
I was thinking: "I imagine having cancer makes one feel like he may be seeing God real soon...so why not start acknowledging Him?"
I Get Blessed
I took the street car back to the Quarter where I made yesterdays blog post.
It was to be Friday night.

I had spent my money down to 6 dollars with the purchase of a sack of weed, but I had fresh batteries for the spotlight and was on my way to the Lilly spot, when I somehow decided to sit down at the Late Jake Spot.
I could hear another group of musicians, who were around the corner.
I was debating whether or not to break out my guitar so close to another group, when, up walked a young black man, more like a kid of about 18, who was carrying a guitar.
He asked me to play him something.
I started to unzip my case to get at the Indiana Scout.
"Do you want to play it on my guitar?" he asked.
When he extended it to me, I saw that it was a Takamine (G340SC) which is one of the finest brands of guitar that I have ever played.
"Sure," I said.
I made easy work of a version of China Cat Sunflower, by The Grateful Dead. Guitars that well made almost play themselves.
He then astonished me by saying: "I'm going to give you that guitar."
Just One Clause:
"Are you serious?" I asked, unable to think of anything else to ask.
The thing had played like a dream and it was 10 times more costly than the one that I had been playing the past 7 months. 
I started to stammer out an attempt at massive gratitude...gee, thanks for handing me a 300 dollar (on E-Bay) guitar; afraid of saying anything that would make him change his mind.
Then:
The Predication 
He had explained that he had made a valiant attempt to learn the instrument, but that the results that he had gotten had led him to decide that the guitar was just not for him; and he determined himself to give the Takamine away to someone who was going to love it and appreciate it and play it well (or words to that effect).
Then, he said: "Well, tell me what you think; I'm going to play something that I wrote; and all I want is your honesty. I want you to honestly tell me if I should just give up on music and hand the guitar to you; or if you think that I should stick with it. I've been playing for almost 2 years now, and practicing as much as possible; but then I come upon musicians like you...well, just listen; and give me your honest opinion!"
And, with those words, he launched into an original musical creation of his; while I grappled with morality and scruples and pondered my plight.
My acquiring a guitar which sounded and played exponentially better than the one I had was predicated upon me listening to his song and concluding that it sucked and that he should give up on the guitar and give up his guitar to me.
His song was typical of music by people who don't have a strong theoretical background; but there was some passion in the delivering of the lyrics; and I liked it.
I had to tell him (honestly) that I liked the song, and to ask him about the meaning of it; I just cannot skeeze in that situation.

Harboring The Indiana Scout

Well, I guess my being honest was all that the young man had asked of me in the first place; and satisfied thus, he handed me the Takamine guitar (seen in the photo above).
I played a couple more songs on it; and then just had to run down the street to show it to Tanya and Dorise. I wanted to say "Hey, some guy just gave me a guitar!" to someone.
Takamine Makes 30 Dollars Without Me
Then, I started to drink more; to "celebrate" the blessing.
At one point, after I had left the Indiana Scout with Dorise, who said that she will keep it in her house; like she had the Jasmine; I was ready to knock off.
I had 16 dollars and a new guitar, and said to myself: "I only have 16 dollars, but I have batteries and weed and am drunk and have an awesome sounding guitar; I guess I will knock off for the night."
I remember that.
I must have gone out and played some more because this morning, I woke up under the dock with about 45 dollars in my pocket, including a 20 dollar bill, which I had no memory of having gotten.

I saw Dorise this afternoon and said to her: "These alcoholics decide to quit drinking because of the "final straw" when their life is falling apart; they are losing things; setting their house on fire; ruining relationships, etc.
I wake up in the morning with a beautiful playing guitar and about 30 more dollars than I remember making.....what kind of incentive is that for me to start showing up at the AA meetings?"