I had a religious experience today.....

While the kids were off at Junior Jam and since I was embarrassing Maddie, I took the opportunity to search google maps on my Treo for a guitar store that would be close. Google came through with the Mandolin Store in Washington CH, OH. It was 20 miles away so I jumped in the van and headed out. I went to the first address and the store was no where to be found. I checked there website and found the new address just a few miles away.

I walked into the Mandolin Store...WOW! I was blown away by the selection of Mandolins. They also have an extensive collection of guitars, banjos, dobros, etc. I was greeted by a hand full of men. They were all sitting around shooting the bull. They reminded me of the Coffee crew that use to hang out in the Wagon Wheel Restaurant when I was a kid in Kingston. These guys were all bluegrass musicians. They were all selecting instruments to tune up for the jam session I could sense was about to start. I was admiring all of the Mandolins. What a great selection. My parents bought me one for Christmas last year. I love playing it. It is hard on my fingers, but the tone is worth it! There was a Breedlove Mando that I fell in love with, awesome tone, it had a wide neck and was a joy to play. Being a smart musician...I put the Mandolin down, since I am much stronger on the guitar in an impromptu situation. I grabbed a really nice Collins OM Spruce and Rosewood guitar and tuned up. I was playing around and one of the older guys asked me a few questions and then they were off. So i jumped in! I would not normally do this, due to my insecurities of my playing ability. The beauty of Bluegrass Music is that...it is either in the key of G or in the key of A. I have those covered!

Wow, was that so much fun! After about an hour of jamming, the guy who had been singing up to that point asked me if I sang. I told him...Not Bluegrass! They chuckled and said, "Is there any other kind of music?" I said, how about Hank Williams tune..."I saw the light". One of the guys said, "we never heard of that one, but if you jump in there, we will follow you". I knew he was lying but I played along. It was awesome! We had a bass, 2 guitars, mandolin, banjo, and a dobro. After about another hour...I had to leave. I could have stayed there all day! It was a religious experience! We were complete strangers, all of us sitting there, in worship. One with the music.

So I give a shout out to the gang at the Mandolin Store! Thanks for making a great day even better. I will be back to do that again! Very soon! Hopefully my bluegrass chops will be much improved and maybe I will even pick up a Mandolin the next time!