Spring "Picking":

No, this isn't about a rite of spring - the picking of spring flowers.

And it isn't about the fun new show on the History Channel - "American Pickers" (which if you haven't seen it - look for it; it's about two guys driving around middle America buying stuff to resell).

It's about our 17 year old son and a banjo. He is an "old soul" who appreciates things made with care and that have patina (which makes his mother, Wendy, very proud). He first taught himself to play the guitar; and has now taught himself the banjo. He recently acquired his third banjo, by trading the first electric guitar he ever owned for it. This banjo is almost 40 years old and was perfect (according to him) for a DIY project he had in mind. So Dad and he tackled the removing of the first seven frets and replacing those with a piece of solid brass - which will allow him to create tones on the banjo almost like a "slide" guitar. You know you are in a house of collectors when we came to the realization that we had all the parts necessary for this project, with the exception of a 55 cent tuning peg we had to purchase and rework to replace one which was cracked. We even had the needed piece of brass stuck away (a cover plate for a particular door knob never installed). The payoff of this project was two fold - the acknowledgement from this great young man that "this turned out pretty good, and we didn't even get mad at each other"; and the look of joy on his soon to be 98 year old great grandma's face today when he played that banjo for her.

Here's hoping you will have the opportunity to "pick" some special spring moments soon.

Wendy's Husband