[Steve-arino]

What fantastic post!!! Thank you whvick.

First of all, I never miss an opportunity to brag about my kids. My son graduated from UC Berkeley 2 years ago and is now a Research Assistant at a well known Non Partisan Economic Think Tank in D.C. He will be applying for a PhD in Economics later this year and has the support and encouragement of his Fellow's (bosses). He wants to stay in Academia.

My daughter just received her LCSW and is starting a Psychotherapy practice (specialization in trauma therapy) in NYC. She is already very successful and is taking the next natural step.

Me? Pops? I want nothing more than to play beautiful music while sitting on my couch or chair. I have made so much progress since my first few fingerstyle notes about 4 years ago that it's a dream come true. As so many of you, I grew up on the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Hot Tuna, etc. I simply love being able to play that stuff.

My initial goal when I turned 60 was to be good enough to play in a dive bar for $25 a night by the time I was 65. Thanks to my in depth research on the AGF, I don't think I'll be good enough. There are so many gifted lifetime players on the AGF that are better than I'll ever be.

I buy and sell a few, mainly high end, guitars a year. To me, they are works of art that bring another aspect of joy to my life. And after 4 years of playing I'm beginning to "grok" some of the nuances of fine instruments. I'm not wealthy but I'm also not afraid; guitars are tangible and I feel it's ok to lose (or make?) a few hundred per guitar a year. I just buy the right ones in order to limit my downside exposure.

And now I'm going to try new strings on my Froggy.