A Thankful Music Teacher

About five years ago, I was home in Virginia visiting friends and family for the holidays. A family reunion was underway when I got a phone call from my roommate. Our water line had frozen and burst, so I told her to go into my studio and grab the water key to turn off the water at the mains.

She informed me that my studio door was open, and that all of my guitars and musical equipment was gone.

Not only did I have a blown pipe, all of my valuable possessions had been stolen too.

I was pretty blown away in that moment, yet I remember an overwhelming feeling like “hmmm, this sucks.. but it doesn’t hurt as much as I’d imagined it would.. it is just stuff.”

Really awesome stuff. So, there I was — three thousand miles away, on the phone with the Seattle police, and missing a chance to hang out with relatives I hadn’t seen in forever.

I went home the next week and, fortunately, a few of my guitars started showing up at local pawnshops. Soon after, they caught the individuals involved in the break in. They had pawned my hand made classical guitar for $100… I was really glad to get it back.

Throughout this ordeal, my friends, students, and their families showed us so much support and love.

It looked like things were going to turn out okay. Most of my belongings had been found. Some were gone for good.

A week later, I was at a close friend’s house for dinner. We were catching up on the whole break-in story… when the front door opened, and people started streaming in. I mean a ton of people.

Soon, the entire house was filled with people I knew from various windows of my life. Something was going on. Students, their parents, friends, family, colleagues…. there were probably one hundred people in my friend’s home.

I was called into the living room, where it was announced that a friend had sent out an email after hearing about the burglary.. and that my community had decided to pitch in to buy me a new guitar. They wanted to put this whole burglary thing behind me and bring some good vibes to the story.

I was presented with a leather guitar strap, signed by all of the families that had contributed. Then, I was presented with a massive game-show-style check… the kind that’s the size of whiteboard. To be clear, this check would easily cover just about any guitar.

I was truly speechless. I maybe muttered thank you. I just stood there, overwhelmed and sweating. My wife was gracious enough to cover for me and make a pretty good speech. For those you that know me, I’ve never been speechless….

At 5am the next morning, it all hit me. I stood in my front yard, tears streaming down my face. So thankful to be a part of such a caring and supportive community. Imagining the amazing speech I would have given if I could go back. This is why we teach, and why we should teach…

Afterwards, I feebly attempted to not accept the gift, and was told that there were so many people involved, there was no way to return the money… I’d just have to get that guitar I’ve always dreamt of.

I did get my dream guitar built… and I started a program at a local high school to teach guitar to kids that otherwise couldn’t. I’d volunteer enough hours of teaching to help cover the cost of the guitar at my teaching rate. That made me feel a little better about receiving such an amazing gift.

A few things really stuck out to me from this experience.

I am so thankful to be a music teacher.

Losing material stuff isn’t as scary or as bad as what I’d expected (even when it’s really awesome stuff).

I am so thankful to be a part of a wonderful, caring community.

I think about these things every time I pick up my Rockbridge guitar.. Every year at Thanksgiving, we go around the table and mention what we’re thankful for… I am truly thankful to teach. Have an awesome Thanksgiving.