the gift.

have you ever been given a gift that just blew you away? i have. i guess more than once, but most recently i was blown away by the banjo. jon, a good friend, was flying in from san fran on his way to va beach for a wedding. he stopped by to hang out some and presents me with a banjo for my graduation present. i was speechless. it was a good gift. it was a great gift. one of those that you know has a lot of thought in it, along with a lot of heart.

you see jon and i had this conversation once. he had not long before gotten a mandolin and was a playing a little for me over the phone, and being a folk and bluegrass lover, i was thoroughly enjoying it. like chris thile was right beside me. and i told him flat out... if there was one instrument i would ever want to play it would be a banjo.

so, as i am preparing to embark on my next journey i leave with a promise to jon: upon my return someday we will reunite, find a front porch, some rockin' chairs, a good cup of coffee, and then proceed to do a little pickin'.

ah, what a picture.