Caring for a Legacy

The reason why I play guitar is because of my brother Bill. When we were kids growing up he was my hero. Bill was popular, funny, smart, an exceptional athlete and a great musician. I always wanted my brother to think I was cool so I could hang out with him and his friends. As things would have it when I was 13 my brother bought a beautiful Ventura D30 Acoustic guitar. I remember up in our room he would work away at learning chords and playing that guitar until his hands cramped up. I was not allowed to touch it...that was Bill's pride and joy. The way I learned to play was when he would go off to work his job at the local pizza place. I would sit in our room and work as hard as I could to learn a song. The song I learned was "New Kid in Town" by the Eagles. One day Bill and a few of his friends were hanging out at our place and Bill was hacking away on his guitar when one of them said why don't you let E play. Well Bill said I couldn't play and that was that. here, finally is my opportunity to be cool so I said, "Yes, I can play" So Bill being the good egg he was handed me his guitar. I break into New Kid in Town and jaws drop. Well, as the years go by, Bill moves out to the west coast and I got involved in a few bands a couple did really well and in one I did some touring having a blast as I was growing up. Well, I joined the Army and got to see the world and found the niche I was always meant to be in. Music never really left my life. I still would noodle every now and then. One terrible October night I got a call that my brother had been killed in a car accident. Bill's fiancée Linda had the terrible task of getting all of Bill's stuff to us. She called me and said that Bill wanted me to have his guitar. I was floored. I know how much this guitar meant to him. Linda explained how impressed Bill was that night when we were kids and I played for him and his friends. She said that he felt I should have this to remember him by. Now, This guitar is old, has been around the world and needs to be refinished. As a tribute to the legacy of my brother I am going to do this myself to ensure that the job is done right. I will post pics once the job is done.

E