the hands of love

I wish I had time to describe Joy. A beautiful girl with white-blond hair and possessing of unshockable frankness. She had Appalachian good sense and a good soul and saw at eighteen that raising a family in one’s own home is as full and rich as life ever needs to be. That was her secret in the pantomime that is High School, and it was a secret worth telling.

As we found out, Joy was getting married, and she asked Wes and I to play in the service. It was our first gig, and on a heartbreakingly beautiful day. Joy was so happy. The wedding party was happy. The green of the grass and the blue of the sky were happy. Wes and I were happy driving that morning up toward Bristol, my guitar case and bits of sheet music playfully askance upon the backseat of my Celica.

The play list for U2’s first gig at a Mount Temple talent contest included Peter Frampton’s “Show me the Way” and bits from the Bay City Rollers. Wes and I attempted nothing so audacious. My assigned piece was “The Rose.” The rolling arpeggio of the bass was perfectly suited to the classical guitar. It sounded very nice during practice, though I feared the sanctuary’s largesse would swallow it whole. (If only I remembered my fingering!) Who knows what Wes was assigned to do. A nervous pride overwhelmed me every time he played, and never more so than during public performance. Even today, whenever he plays, I want to leap around shouting: “Look here everyone! Listen to my friend play. Isn’t it beautiful! Isn’t it amazing!” Thus, I remember the anxiety but not the music, and isn’t that the way of everything.

Being a wedding there was, of course, an accident. I held the epicenter. It was a tuning accident of immense proportions -- my 6th, E-string broke – and in the middle of East Tennessee nowhere and less than a half-hour before I-Do time. What to do? Horrible horrible! The only solution was an attempt to recycle the same string in hopes it was long enough to stretch. It was, if barely, and held the tone. The wedding was simple and tasteful. Wes and I contributed flawless performances. Everyone was so happy. It was a perfect day.