Sultan of swing
Last Sunday afternoon Randy was a bit fidgety with anticipation. It wasn't that we would be heading to Myles' indoor soccer practice, or that we would be eating lunch at a Mexican restaurant, or (as is the case with me on these Sunday afternoons in Expatland) that we would spend some time in a Starbucks. He was anxiously looking forward to seeing a man in that same area about a guitar he was selling.
It wasn't just any guitar, though. I had seen an advertisement that Friday before in a local expat message board about someone selling a Gibson Les Paul at a very reasonable price. I contacted the seller, exchanging emails and text messages, and on Sunday the guitar still hadn't been sold. We couldn't believe that it was still available, forty-eight hours after the posting.
All afternoon Randy was truly excited. He didn't want to get his hopes up (the ad did say the instrument had some unquantified dings because it had been gigged), but he could not believe that he was going to give a Les Paul a try and possibly buy it that afternoon. I told him that now he knew how I felt before watching the AFC Championship and Super Bowl games recently. I was positively giddy the night before each game. Giddy isn't a very masculine word, but Randy was clearly enjoying the anticipation of what was to come that afternoon.
It did not take much for him to realize this guitar was the one. There was no need to consider this purchase. From the moment he curled his fingers around the neck, the guitar was as good as sold.
The previous owner was a teacher at one of the International Schools who also plays in a local band on the side. It wasn't that he didn't love this guitar; he did. However, he wanted the defray the cost of the purchase of another instrument, a Gold Top. He wasn't interested in profiting from the Les Paul's desirability, either. He was only asking what he had paid for it himself, hundreds of US dollars less than Randy and I had seen on US resale sites.
Randy has been much more motivated this week to play guitar in his spare time. In the first few months when he was living in Shenzhen without us, he bought an acoustic guitar and a bass that he plays occasionally, but not often enough. The Les Paul, with its' gorgeous sound, has been part of our nightly soundtrack all week. I had to ask him, though, if he were always that good or if the Les Paul made everything sound better. Both, I am sure, are true.
It wasn't just any guitar, though. I had seen an advertisement that Friday before in a local expat message board about someone selling a Gibson Les Paul at a very reasonable price. I contacted the seller, exchanging emails and text messages, and on Sunday the guitar still hadn't been sold. We couldn't believe that it was still available, forty-eight hours after the posting.
All afternoon Randy was truly excited. He didn't want to get his hopes up (the ad did say the instrument had some unquantified dings because it had been gigged), but he could not believe that he was going to give a Les Paul a try and possibly buy it that afternoon. I told him that now he knew how I felt before watching the AFC Championship and Super Bowl games recently. I was positively giddy the night before each game. Giddy isn't a very masculine word, but Randy was clearly enjoying the anticipation of what was to come that afternoon.
It did not take much for him to realize this guitar was the one. There was no need to consider this purchase. From the moment he curled his fingers around the neck, the guitar was as good as sold.
The previous owner was a teacher at one of the International Schools who also plays in a local band on the side. It wasn't that he didn't love this guitar; he did. However, he wanted the defray the cost of the purchase of another instrument, a Gold Top. He wasn't interested in profiting from the Les Paul's desirability, either. He was only asking what he had paid for it himself, hundreds of US dollars less than Randy and I had seen on US resale sites.
Randy has been much more motivated this week to play guitar in his spare time. In the first few months when he was living in Shenzhen without us, he bought an acoustic guitar and a bass that he plays occasionally, but not often enough. The Les Paul, with its' gorgeous sound, has been part of our nightly soundtrack all week. I had to ask him, though, if he were always that good or if the Les Paul made everything sound better. Both, I am sure, are true.
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