You need a newer browser.

09/15/25   
Where dreams come to get really sick

Fiddle

bio/email
May 13, 2002
"In childhood I first discovered music. For my birthday Dad gave me a fiddle, and a year later, for another birthday, he gave me a bow. I was so happy when fiddle met bow and made beautiful music. Or failing that, sharp screeching sounds that I enjoyed.

Dad never paid for any lessons or allowed me to read any books on how to play fiddle because he thought that would be cheating. Nor would he allow me to play outside the home because he thought it would permanently ruin our family name. But once I was home from school and barricaded myself in my room, I was free to wail away on my fiddle and teach myself how to play.

Of course, that never happened. It was a fiddle. I had no concept of music in the slightest, I couldn't tell a G string from a G-string like the kind a stripper wears. I never even knew if the thing was in tune or not, it was really unfair of Dad to give me a fiddle without even a book or anything. What did he expect me to do? Learn how to play from the brilliant members of my family? Stephanie played a little piano and Goose played a little craps. Not the kind of braintrust you can rely on for a musical education.

I didn't even learn until three weeks ago that a fiddle and a violin are the same instrument. I was disgusted to learn I had been playing a classical instrument the whole time. My dreams of being a world-champion fiddle player were instantly dashed. Which is to say they were probably dashed years ago when I realized I couldn't even play 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' after 20 years with the damned thing.

You can imagine how frustrating it was when I found out Dad was a world-champion fiddle player himself and never mentioned it to me. He could have at least showed me how to hold the bow so the string part was touching the strings of the fiddle, I only learned that yesterday."


Quote of the Day
“My love is like a red, red rose… always surrounded by pricks.”

-Wycked Burns
Fortune 500 Cookie
Duck! Jesus, did you see that? Now may be the time to consider ending your relationship with Columbia House. That weird lump you feel may not be an alien tracking device after all; go ahead and see a specialist. You won't remember the name of that Faith No More tribute band anytime soon.


Try again later.
Top 5 commune Features This Week
1.Abe Lincoln: Tall Motherfucker
2.Michael Jackson's Dating Tips
3.The Dog Did It: A Dummy's Guide to Solar Wind
4.Uncle Macho's Pepperoni Puree
5.A Tedious Summation of All Your Flaws: Past, Present and Future
Archives
The Plan
"As an idealistic young man, I came up with a plan for America. Most politically-active young Americans have ideas on how to improve their country. You did, didn't you? Well, hooray for you. I actually wrote it down. The first part of my plan was... (4/29/02)

Slice of Life
"Once in a while someone will ask me, 'Samuel L. Hartwig, what's your view of life?' I'll usually say the same thing: I'm paying you for the entire hour, doctor, you should be answering my damn questions. I do have an answer, though: Life is just... (4/15/02)

The Room
"Uncle Trey had a big rambling old house that he lived in; bigger, many thought, than a confirmed bachelor like him would ever need. We liked it, though, because it gave us lots of opportunities to play whenever we would visit him. We had the run of... (4/1/02)

more