The Loss of a Friend
I’ve had the same guitar for about 13 years. Her name is Agemaki, after a kabuki character, appropriate for the Japanese-made Takamine guitar. I have ridden my bike miles with it to play at preschools with it strapped to my back; it has been my solace during breakups, and has been the source of joyous camaraderie around campfires. It’s been used as a tool of seduction on dates. It has made my children laugh.
It hangs on my wall, taken down now and again for pleasure and (recently) to go into the burlesque show with me. So I understand something of what David Garrett felt when he tripped and fell on his Stradivarius:
“When I opened it, the violin was in pieces. I couldn’t speak and I couldn’t get up. I didn’t even know if I was hurt – I didn’t care. I’ve had that violin for eight years. It was like losing a friend.”
I love that he didn’t think “Oh, shit, that’s a million pounds down the drain.” He didn’t think “Everybody’s going to hate me!” He mourned the loss of his friend. Someone he’d never hear sing again. He’s good enough that they flew in another Strad (with a 3-man security team) for him to play the next concert…but I wonder if it felt like cheating? If it felt like someone that just wasn’t the same and good enough?
I wonder if there are any other objects that feel like they get as close as an instrument?
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