Dougf
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My dad had a ukulele when I was a kid, and all I knew was that he bought it in Hawaii when he and my mom lived there in the early 50s. He would bring it out now and again and play his old favorite songs for us. He also taught us the basic chords and a few easy songs. He clearly loved that little uke, and we all had fun with it.
He died a few years ago, and his wife got rid of his ukes -- we never found out what happened to them, and it wasn't until a recent family reunion that we heard the story of how he acquired that first one.
According to his cousin, who said she heard it from her mom, my mom and dad were struggling financially at that time, and never went out to eat, and rarely, if ever, ate red meat. Well, my grandfather was a cattleman who owned and operated a stockyard, and not eating red meat was anathema to him, so when he heard of their difficulties, he send them $75 so they could treat themselves to a night out, and also put some meat back in their diet.
Well, apparently the first thing my dad did with that money was to go out buy a ukulele. I'm guessing he didn't spend it all on that uke, I think it was a Martin Style O, and they probably went for something like $20 back then, but I think it speaks volumes about his priorities. I'm sure glad he bought that uke, chances are I wouldn't be playing now if he hadn't.
He died a few years ago, and his wife got rid of his ukes -- we never found out what happened to them, and it wasn't until a recent family reunion that we heard the story of how he acquired that first one.
According to his cousin, who said she heard it from her mom, my mom and dad were struggling financially at that time, and never went out to eat, and rarely, if ever, ate red meat. Well, my grandfather was a cattleman who owned and operated a stockyard, and not eating red meat was anathema to him, so when he heard of their difficulties, he send them $75 so they could treat themselves to a night out, and also put some meat back in their diet.
Well, apparently the first thing my dad did with that money was to go out buy a ukulele. I'm guessing he didn't spend it all on that uke, I think it was a Martin Style O, and they probably went for something like $20 back then, but I think it speaks volumes about his priorities. I'm sure glad he bought that uke, chances are I wouldn't be playing now if he hadn't.