Remembering...

It has been 10 years, but we have not forgotten those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I lost my mother to cancer in 2008 and quit blogging. It was too hard knowing she wasn't in Charlotte reading my posts. Cancer I can wrap my head around. Terrorism I can't. Who would choose to take so many lives? All of them loved by family, friends, pets. On 9/12/01 partners woke up in bed alone. Kids wondered when Mom was coming home. Puppies were missing their laps, their hugs. The crater at Ground Zero, the smoking Pentagon, the wreckage in Pennsylvania was nothing compared to the hole in so many hearts. Even in the hearts of those of us without a personal connection. In 2006 I participated in the 2,996 Project to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11. Giovanna was one of thousands who we still miss, still mourn. Her story is just one of so many that we remember today.

Read Gennie's story here and never forget...

Merry Christmas!

Who are we?

The Internet Monk answers the question, "Who are Americans?"

Tears

This post is a good reminder to me, the greatest of sinners - especially in an election year.

We won't forget

We remember Giovanna Gambale and all of the victims who died in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC on September 11, 2001.

Ibanez guitar project

Here's a picture of my latest project. It's an Ibanez SCA-220 that I bought cheap on ebay and fixed up this summer.

When it arrived, it became obvious that it had a rough life before coming to me. There were several scratches, the tone control was messed up, and there was what appeared to be candle wax on the fingerboard and around the back control cavity.

After a lot of sanding, a hand-rubbed oil finish, and some new Seymour Duncan pickups, it's a pretty different guitar. Here's some before and after photos.

This picture isn't very good, but if you look really close you can see what I believe are teeth marks at the top of the headstock. I'm telling you... it had a rough life!

Maybe it's just me... but I think they should come from the factory like this.

Back to School '08

Pictures of A's first day of kindergarten (sniff!) and Z's first day of 3rd grade.