I've Been Distracted

I've not posted in a couple weeks, but there is a good reason.


My wife was diagnosed with a serious heart condition, which required surgery.  All went as projected, and she is now home recuperating.  It will be a fairly long process, but the prognosis is good.


So, please hang in there with me and don't go away because I'm a little tardy in sharing more creations or ideas.

They're Doin' It In South Africa

My friend Art took this photo recently while on a trip to Capetown, South Africa.  

Marv's Idea of the Blues

I was pleasantly surprised a couple days ago, when I received a note from my 'old' friend Marv.

He writes occasionally, but most of the time it is to share political crap that is so far right that I have to turn around to read it.

But, I just smile when I read the garbage Marv sends, because he has a great sense of humor and shares some really funny shit some times.  And, besides, he's my friend.

We've been buddies for more than fifty years, although we lost track of each other for a long time.  He was amassing a dynasty of barber shops on the left coast, and I was running like hell on the corporate fast track, to stay ahead of the wave.  Marv cut the best flattop west of the Mississippi!  I could tell some wild stories about our youth, but what happens in the barber shop, stays in the barber shop.

We reconnected a while ago, thanks to my other friend Jim, who recently passed away.  RIP, Jim.

Marv knows I build cigar box guitars, and a short time ago he asked me to create a guitar for his grandson.  I guess that got him to thinking about music, 'cause in his recent missal, he shared a poem that will soon become the lyrics for my latest blues tune.

I goes something like this . . . .

Susie Lee done fell in love,
     She planned to marry Joe.
She was so happy 'bout it all,
     She told her papa so.


Papa told her, Susie gal,
     You'll have to find another.
I'd just as soon yo' mama don't know,
     But, Joe is yo' half brother.


So Susie put aside her Joe,
     And, planned to marry Will.
But, after telling papa this,
     He said, 'There's trouble still'.


You cannot marry Will, my gal,
     And, please don't tell yo' mother.
But, Will and Joe, and several mo',
     I know, is yo' half brother.


But, Mama knew and said, my child,
     Just do what makes yo' happy.
Marry Will, or marry Joe,
     'Cause, you ain't no kin to Pappy!


Thanks Marv, you da blues lyrics maven.

Will I Live To See 80?

I recently visited my primary health care doctor.  After exhaustive lab tests, he proclaimed I was doing 'well' for my age.  I just turned 71.

A little concerned about his comment, I couldn't resist asking him, "Do you think I'll live to be 80?"


He asked, "Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer, wine or hard liquor?


"Oh, no!", I replied.  "I'm not doing drugs, either!"


Then he asked, "Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?"  I said, "Not much!, my former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!"  "Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, boating, sailing, hiking, bicycling?"  "No, I don't", I said.

He asked, "Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have lots of sex?"  "NO!", I said.

He looked at me and said, "Then really, why do you even give a shit?"

Slide Jig

For those of you who are inclined to make your own slides, this jig is the ticket.


Jan Westphal shared the idea on Cigar Box Nation, and I was so blown away by the simplicity of the construction, I had to share it with you.

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John suggested I post this jig in "Special Tools" so here it is. Its just two pieces of wood joined by two hinges (?) and two brackets* to hold the Dremel. The cut off whell is a diamond coated 1.5" one. The bottle rests between two pieces of metal glued to the wood and the clamp at the right hand side holds everything on the table and functions as an end stop for the bottle, sort of.

I thought it helps to wrap cellotape around the bottle neck to prevent from too much chipping but it is still necessary to take lots of time and dont rush it - I need about 5 minutes for one cut - turning the bottle all the time and taking it very slowly with some nice laidback music in the background. If I press down too hard little pieces of glass are coming off which results in awful lot of grinding afterwards.

*can be found in hardware stores, used to fix water pipes onto walls