Starting off small

[Dr. Nic†]

"No, no, not like that. Here, let me show you," Thomas said as he sat on the back porch of his home, smiling briefly at Joshua before looking down at the guitar in his hands. His worn, weather-beaten hands caressed the instrument with a casual familiarity, years of experience going to work as he demonstrated the proper fingering. His hands were huge, heavy things compared to those of the little boy mimicking him; he waited patiently as Joshua copied the fingering, only moving his hands to give the boy a better view of where his fingers were on the neck of the acoustic guitar. He gave Joshua a warm smile when he got the placement right, and flicked his fingers across the strings, waiting for Joshua to do the same before he moved on to the next chord. "Good, good. Remember that. Now, follow along."

They sat there for hours behind the house, going over the chords one by one, again and again, until Joshua could strike them on demand. This was only the first of many lessons, and it would be a while before the boy could be considered good, but everyone has to start off small. "Very good. Keep it up, just like that," Joshua's uncle said, watching him run through the chords, committing them to memory and doing his best to avoid mistakes. It wasn't much, but he was learning. While Joshua practiced, his uncle reached over to the little table between the chairs and pulled on a number of finger picks, waving the boy on as he tuned his guitar. Every now and then he would strike a note, and he couldn't help but smile when the Josh stopped practicing and started to copy the notes that he played. The boy seemed proud to follow along, even if the sound wasn't quite right and the notes fell short; Joshua hadn't quite gotten the hang of holding them.

"Wanna help me out with a song?" Thomas said with a smile, and laughed at Joshua's eager nodding. "Alright, alright, settle down. It's not much. I'll teach you how to play back up when you get a little better, but for now, just keep this beat. Use your feet, or tap on the guitar. Not too hard now." Joshua was all smiles as Thomas demonstrated the beat he wanted him to tap. For a couple minutes, that was all they did; first it was with their feet on the hardwood of the porch, and then Thomas got Joshua going by tapping on the guitar itself. "Remember that. If you don't have something hard to tap your foot on, you can always use the guitar. You'll get the hang of tapping while playing as you get better," he said with a smile as he kept Joshua going, snapping his fingers as Josh rapped his knuckles on the soundboard. When he was sure that the boy could keep the beat steady, he turned to his own guitar and struck a few chords, getting a feel for the music before he started playing his own, single guitar interpretation of Take Me Home, Country Roads, by John Denver.

"Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains
Shenandoah River
Life is old there
Older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Growin' like a breeze."

Thomas looked up from the guitar and flashed a smile at Joshua before motioning for the boy to join in. When he didn't understand the first time, Thomas repeated the motion again, encouraging Joshua to sing along with the chorus. He knew the boy had some pipes on him, and it didn't seem right to just have him keep the beat. Besides, Joshua knew the song almost as well as Thomas did; it was an old favorite of Thomas', and one he regularly played. With a little encouragement, Joshua joined his uncle in singing the chorus.

"Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads."

Joshua and Thomas exchanged smiles during a short break in the song, and with some more encouragement from his uncle, Joshua straightened up in his chair, kept the beat going with his feet, and started to play a couple of chords that went well with the song. He didn't play much, but while his uncle played lead, Joshua added in a little something as backup. It was just a couple of chords that his uncle told him to repeat over and over again, but he was still overjoyed to play.

"All my memories gather 'round her
Miner's lady, stranger to blue waters
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine
Teardrops in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads."

The song was far from sounding like the original now, but neither Thomas nor Joshua cared much for keeping it perfect. They were making it their own, and Joshua surprised both himself and his uncle with how well he kept pace. He had been embarrassed to admit it before, but Joshua was glad he had stolen away to practice before he had asked his uncle to teach him. He knew a few things already when he went into the lesson, and it seemed that it had helped him. He kept pace, he didn't hit too many sour notes, he got the hang of the fingering pretty quick, but it was only his first lesson, so he had a lot more to learn yet. But he was having fun, and it seemed like his uncle really enjoyed teaching. And the both of them loved to play and loved to sing, it seemed. It was going to be hard work once he got beyond the first steps, but Joshua swore he wouldn't give up. He wanted to play like his uncle. Hell, he wanted to play better than his uncle. He wanted to be able to write his own songs, to play music without sheets or instruction, to earn a living doing what he loved, and he knew he was going to love playing the guitar.

"I hear her voice
In the morning hour she calls me
Radio reminds me of my home far away
Drivin' down the road, I get the feelin'
That I should have been home yesterday,
Yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads."

The chorus repeated a few times, but by the end of the song and the end of the night, Joshua was all smiles despite the sweat and the sore fingers and dirt and grass stains that were still fresh on his clothes. He had fun with his uncle, even if his uncle was a hard man, harder than his own father ever was or probably would ever be. But he loved them both, and each of them held a special place in his life. He was genuinely happy that his aunt got married now, even if he resented his uncle for the first month or two. He knew it was for the best, though. He was happier now, and he was even getting paid for the work he did, and he had more than enough money of his own to do what he wanted. That sort of freedom was hard to find among his friends, and it was hard won to boot, and it made Joshua feel like he had done something special. Something that even his brothers hadn't done yet.

"Be careful on your way home, honey. Watch for cars and look both ways when crossing the street now," Audrey said an hour after Joshua and his uncle had finished playing. It was late, and the streetlamps were just lighting up as Joshua mounted his bike and waved to his aunt and uncle. His backpack was heavy with the books his aunts were sending home with him, and his arms and legs ached from the work he did, but he was happy. He was even happier when his uncle handed him the money he earned, and he was still thinking about it sitting in his pocket as he started down the street. He was expected back at his uncle's house at least three times a week just for practice, but Joshua expected that he would be practicing every day after he finished his work. He was only just starting off, but he expected and swore that he would keep up the guitar for as long as he could. He was going to earn a living with it one day, and would practice every single day until then.