vibraphone nr i remember making a spontaneous decision, after consulting with one of the only vibraphonists in the city i know, to drive four-plus hours to pick it up. i remember being directed into this desolate farmland area with tall trees and corn stalks, and making my way with slight trepidation along the empty country road at dusk. i ended up at a little house — as far as i could tell, the only one in the area — and knocked on the door. the seller answered and invited me in. i walked into a softly lit home with a dark-wood interior and worn easy chairs. the vibraphone was in the corner of the living room. the seller and his wife were a kind older couple, and i could tell they'd miss the instrument. she said she'd especially miss it around Christmas. he talked to me for awhile about music, and gave me a his contact info and a CD he'd made with different vibraphone music on it. he said to feel free to be in touch to let him know what i thought and how the instrument was. i almost felt guilty taking the instrument from him. i felt even more guilty that i lost his contact info, but just this week i came across the CD he gave me all those years ago. i wonder if he's still alive. 210910 ... raze two things. thing one: when i saw the word "vibraphone" wasn't a link in weird_confessions, i thought, "really? in twenty years, that word has never been blathed?" and then you made it a blathe, and that blathe is this blathe, and reading it made me think something else. and that was: this is beautiful. i'm really glad you're writing here again. thing two: i took a look at some old emails. in a gmail conversation from fourteen years ago (almost to the day), i found the original ad from the classified section of the windsor star. "marimba (ross) vibraphone (deagan) both $2500, will sep. 519-322-0612" i wish i had more. i wish i had a name and an email address for you too. but maybe that phone number is still in service. and maybe it leads to the sound of a familiar voice. 210910 ... nr thing one reply: thank you for the kind words. i was really surprised "vibraphone" was unlinked too, and immediately went to fix that. it has been on blue blather since 2000 though. thing two reply: whaaaaat holy crap! i googled that number and that last name does sound familiar. ha, i wonder what i'd say if i called him up randomly 14 years later. thanks so much for finding that. i'd totally forgotten he also had a marimba. but now i kind of remember being like "ahhhhhh can i realistically take both? can i procure this money somehow? can i procure space for these instruments? can i procure space in my tiny car? can i make this totally unrealistic thought a reality?" but it wasn't meant to be. 210911 ... nr i just watched you play in an online concert. you're just... a master now. i told you that once, and you were like "i don't know about THAT." but i do. i remember being intimidated by you and your work ethic when you were just starting to learn the instrument about 18 years ago. i thought you were good even that year. i put you on a pedestal; you were all i thought i wanted to become. but now i can watch you, be awed, and just be glad you became who you tried to be for so long. 211023 what's it to you? who go blather from