in a place long ago and far away this story begins.
1976, i was an aimless 20 yr old kid working amongst a group of experienced rough hewn gold miners in the frozen tundra of central alaska. the mailing address was literally - general delivery, central alaska. my only friend was my trusty guild guitar. the 6 string therapist.
the work was long and hard, 10 hrs a day, 7 days a week, one day off every 2 weeks. the routine was to typically work 6 weeks, accumulate 3 days off and head to the nearest watering hole, which we did with great abandon.
one day an unexpected visitor arrived in camp. Candy was her name. she was a "friend" of one of the miners and immediately became adored by the rest of us young bucks. she hired on as kitchen help feeding the 2 shift 24 hour a day crews. her presence and joyful spirit brought relief to the repetition of the day to day work environment.
with management being what it was, it was decided there were to be no unmarried couples in this camp. Candy had to go.
as she was escorted from our back woods enclave, she presented me with a small black cardboard instrument case. "here, i want you to have this" she said to me. a bit surprised and unexpected i thanked her for her generosity, a thing seldom seen in these parts.
in the case was a little 'contessa' mandolin. the bridge was missing but otherwise intact.
i mentioned this gift in a letter home to my father. as was his nature, a package arrived some time later with a one piece wooden bridge,a set of strings and a mel bay mandolin book. all i had in the way of tools was a small V file. i got to whittling and got the little 'gift' playable.
here it is 2022 and uncoverd in the back of a closet and mostly forgotten is the little 'gift'.
seeing it again brought a tidal wave of memories, a few of which i've shared with you.
this brings me to the point for this story.
with Christmas coming on and remembering what an instrument meant to me as a young person, i'd like for the little 'gift' to go to someone, maybe a young person whose family could use a little help. someone who desires learning mandolin. i've strung it up, the neck is pretty straight, the frets are good, it tunes up and plays pretty well in tune up to the octave neck joint.
if in the dallas/fort worth area, we can meet for the exchange or if someone should want to help with shipping to a deserving beginner in another part of the country, give me a shout.
thanks for taking the time,
mm
Bookmarks