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Hollywood Forever Cemetery (photo Mike Spak) |
Back in 1999, when my marriage was falling apart, I used to take an acoustic guitar to a local cemetery to play. Sometimes I took my son, who ended up being a lot better player than I’ll ever be. Guitar playing was a bond we shared which was never broken, despite the breakup of the family. I actually began taking cemetery photographs during that same time period (gee, I wonder why?). Getting away from it all back then was a necessity. For most of my adult life, playing guitar and taking pictures helped me deal with the world, with personal issues, and even to judge myself. In retrospect, psychiatry would've been cheaper, but not nearly as much fun.
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Picking on a mausoleum's steps |
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Ed, with guitar (photo by Tim Snyder) |
On the appointed day, I had stopped on the way to pick up one of my guitars from the repair shop. Arriving at the cemetery, we chatted and walked out onto the grounds to take pictures. She was really determined to learn to operate the camera, for a few reasons. Her father had died recently and she was very close to him; learning to use his film SLR would keep him close to her. She also stated that she just wanted to finish "one thing without giving up."
We shot some statuary, and I explained aperture, shutter speed, ISO, all that photography stuff. We talked about our mutual interest in cemeteries. At one point I asked her what she meant about giving up on things, and she said, “Oh, like when I tried learning to play the guitar once, and gave up.” Hmm, I thought, another opportunity to impress this woman! And wait! It's getting near dusk, I actually have a guitar in the trunk of my car! I pictured myself in the graveyard grass, strumming to her in the waning light. Just as I was about to pop open the trunk, grab the guitar and cleverly say "Well, I just happen to have one right here," she says, “Yeah, a friend of mine tried to teach me, but he gave up.” She paused and added, “Have you ever heard of _____ _____ ?" (I shouldn't divulge who the person is, but he’s a world-famous guitar virtuoso performer and recording artist—and up to that point, one of my idols!). I stammered weakly, “Uh, yeahhhh…,” and didn't open the car trunk. I made a mental note never to let her hear ME play the guitar! We dated a couple months, but then her rock star came through town on tour and she dropped me like yesterday's newspapers.
Links of Interest:
Sid Vicious
Nancy Spungen
Sid Vicious' Music
Brian Eugene Waddell: (great quote) "Brian did not die of any illness, his life was stolen, by 2 girls who shot him and stole his van."
Bianca's Angel (photo at top of blog): lead singer and bassist Bianca Halstead for the band "Betty Blowtorch," (another great quote) who "died in a shattered Corvette."