Communicating with the Dead

The Universe. God. Fate. Whatever you want to call it, sure works in mysterious ways. Several years ago, I had probably one of the most bizarre guitars ever. It was an acrylic B.C. Rich Mockingbird, like the one Meegs Rascon from Coal Chamber played. The dudes with whom I was playing at the time, Steve and Dave, hated it!

Anyway, one day, I wasn't paying attention, and it fell, and the neck cracked. Because the headstock was also made of acrylic, it proved to be a quite difficult repair. That's when I enlisted the help of a man who was not only like a father to me, but also knew guitars inside and out. Mr. Nelson De Jesus.

We were like family long before his son, Michael (one of my best friends), married my niece. We spent a lot of time playing music, talking about music, listening to music, and repairing musical equipment together. Many, many late nights, great meals, and a lot of laughs, too. He pretty much taught me the ropes when it came to the maintenance and repair of my own gear, and has probably saved me a small fortune over the years. Whatever I couldn't fix, we would work on together.

We spent a considerable amount of time with this guitar, before we finally decided that the best course of action was to scrap the old neck and start over with a new one. So, the search was on, but we could never find one that was quite right.

Sadly, before the guitar could be repaired, Mr. Nelson passed away. All of his guitars, amps, pedals - everything he had - were either sold off, or given away, including my guitar. I thought I'd never see it again.

Then, just this morning, I got the urge to scroll through the musician's swap meet on Facebook, and there it was. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! There was my long, lost guitar, all fixed up, and ready to jam! After contacting the seller, we verified that this guitar was indeed the one that I'd lost.

Now, I don't much believe in coincidences. But I do believe that if you pay close attention, and are in tune with the world around you, you can pick up on some things that most people can't or won't see. This is definitely something that would have amused him, and I'd like to believe that this was Mr. Nelson's way of telling me that he's OK wherever he is, and that as far as the guitar is concerned, better late than never.

I'd like to take this opportunity to give a HUGE THANKS to my new friend Norman Cash for reuniting me with my long lost guitar - and for bringing it back to life. It might look silly to some people, but it means the world to me.

Christian