Hi Ho Silver Lining

A friend of mine is no fan of my idol worship. I can't change who I am. A musician changes my perspective on music or just generally blows me away, I'm bowing down. I always have.

April 2009 was easily the worst month of my life. My partner of over six years changed the locks on the doors (sounds like a song, right?) and that was it.

April 16th in particular was difficult. I received an e-mail from her that was nothing short of excruciating. I'll spare you the details. It was same day that Jeff Beck would play the Park West. Quite the intimate venue compared to all the other places I had seen him. Tim and I met Linda there.

We sat close enough to see everything nicely. It was great. Jeff played unbelievable guitar, the band was good and the volume was just right. Not too loud. He even played "Over The Rainbow" as an encore.

After the show, we went outside and just talked to some people in front of the Park West. Terry from The Guitar Works was there. We talked to him a little and for some reason, Tim and Linda got into a discussion with a few geeky super fan types. Linda totally missed Seeing Tal, the bass player board the tour bus. Although we weren't trying to meet anybody, we were right near the bus. Cynthia Plaster Caster walked by with a tall normal looking guy who seemed to be very tired of her talking to fans about ..........plaster casting. He just stared into space while she answered all the usual questions. Then, they walked away.

All of a sudden, things just felt weird. Something was going on. The front door of the Park West had opened and a really fat bouncer came out walking real close to a medium sized bouncer. As they walked our way, I figured out what was happening. These guys were creating a human shield for JEFF BECK! He was in between these guys. They were walking him out to the bus. Here I am 47 years old, and I felt like a teen-aged girl at a Beatles concert. I was able to get past fat boy and stood right in front of Jeff. This was literally a childhood dream. To meet the one of the main people who had inspired me to play guitar.

I said, "Jeff, I've been listening since I was 13. Thanks for all those years of inspiration. I love ya, baby!" He looked right at me and gave me a huge smile, we shook hands and he got on the bus. I thought his hands were really soft for a guy who spends more time working on hot rods than playing guitar.

Tim and Linda had missed the whole exchange. We then went to get some food at a restaurant across the street. We talked about the show the whole time.

So, in a way, one of the worst days of my life was also one of the best days of my life. I have always thought that it was too bad that she would never know this story. She would have liked it.