It was January of 1978 and I was a sophomore in high school. One of my closest friends had just turned 16 and had his driver’s license. Another friend had his permit and a car. The guys were ready to get out for the first time on our own. I told my parents that we …
Author Archives: elvisgumby
Movie Decisions
It was late 1979 and I was a senior in high school. Most weekends my buddies and I decided to go to the movies and there were a couple of films that we were considering. I was driving so I took the lead in deciding we would go to see Apocalypse Now. It had been …
Elvis Double Feature
Elvis Presley’s last feature films that weren’t concert films were released in 1969. Some people probably think I’ve seen a lot of Elvis movies in theaters. I only remember going to the theater once to see any of these films. I don’t remember exactly when this happened, but my Aunt Della took me and her …
Gigantic Popcorn
When I was in high school, my friends and I went to the movies a lot. Almost every weekend, we went to see something. Part of this experience was getting popcorn and a soft drink. I liked getting the biggest popcorn and drink they offered. This was in the days before they had the combo …
The Backroads of South Carolina
On our recent cruise, we traveled into South Carolina to get to the port in Charleston. It’s common for us to use our GPS to navigate our trips and this one was no different. While it is more desirable to take as many major roads as possible, GPS software will usually take you through some …
SOS from the USS Sunshine
Overnight on the third evening of our cruise to the Bahamas, my wife was awakened by my voice coming from the bathroom of our cabin. “Can someone come help me!” was the plea that she heard. I wasn’t yelling, but I was speaking in a voice louder than what I usually use. She got up, …
Fingerpicking
My parents encouraged me to learn how to play a lot of different instruments over the years. At some point, I picked up a harmonica. This came natural enough that I would play it at churches with my cousin Sammy accompanying me when we performed at churches. Another instrument that I got around this time …
Guidance from Don and John
After I started writing a few songs, I had a chance to play some of them for a couple of friends who were professional musicians. Don is a professional piano player who has accompanied many well-known artists. He was also one of my mom’s piano students when he was first getting his start. He suggested …
Birthday 2023
In keeping with my tradition, I’m sharing this list of gifts that I received from my wife for my birthday month. I admire her creativity in her diversity of items on the list. I help her along with suggestions, knowing that she is going to do this each year and trying to steer her to …
My Son’s First Guitar
I mentioned in an earlier post that my son had a good guitar before I had one. When he got the guitar bug, he wanted an electric guitar. We bought him a Red Squier Stratocaster starter pack with the upgraded amplifier. He had enough natural music talent and drive to be able to learn what …