The Christmas Ukulele

 * I know. I know. You, the faithful reader of the Hines Terrace Herald, are saying, "Hey, enough with the Christmas posts. It's already January 26th. Move on, already!" Well, you can count your lucky stars. This is the last Christmas related post till next December. Unless I find some other cool pictures of  a yuletide FH and then you will have to wade through another sentimental post filled with cutsey pics and I make no apologies. 

Here I am on Christmas morning playing my new ukulele and serenading Mel and Ford as Ford eats. 

     Mel is a great gift giver. Each Christmas, she always gets me something I didn't ask for, but it always ends up being something that I really like and use a lot. She is the one who gave me my first bow tie. I opened it and thought it was neat, but I didn't think it would end up being something that many people remember or define me by. When she was in college and I was just her boyfriend, she bought us tickets to go see David Gray at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and it ended up being one of the best concerts that I've ever been too. And one year, she gave me an espresso machine. It is awesome and when time allows, it is very fun to make my own breve latte and make Mel her signature "Two Pump Mocha". For several years, she gave me tree ornaments that represented things I care about like biking, hiking, my first (and only marathon), and a little cabin for the year I lived in a stone cabin at Alpine Camp for Boys. And another Christmas, she gave me a book stamp that reads: "This book belongs to J. David Dark". It sounds nerdy I know, but I am a self-proclaimed bibliophile and it is exactly what I needed. And then for the year I began my life as a teacher, she gave me an "official" teacher's messenger bag and I am still carrying it eight years later to school each and every day. You get the point, or at least I hope so. Mel is a great gift giver and she surprises me each year. I never know what it'll be, but it always is something unexpected and I end up really liking it.

    This year, she warned me. She told me early in December that she had taken a chance and hoped it didn't backfire on her. I wasn't worried, but she seemed to be. On Christmas morning, when all the presents were handed out, she told me to open her gift first. And so I did. It was an odd-shaped box and I shook it a little, but it didn't make much of noise and I really had no clue as to what it could be. Nothing I had written down on my little Christmas list came in box that was that big. So, I tore off the paper and the box was labeled "Oscar Schmidt" and I quickly assumed (wrongly) that it was a mandolin, but then I opened it and saw it was a ukulele and I thought, "A ukulele? Cool. Neat. Weird?" I had never thought about getting a ukulele or even playing a ukulele. My only connection with "ukes" was that extra large Hawaiian man who plays that very cool and hip version of, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and of the King holding one and playing it while wearing an extra-tight bathing suit and completely surrounded by beach babes in Blue Hawaii. So, I pulled it out and gave it a good looking-over and instantly felt like I was really going to like this little thing. Ford and Mel also gave me a very nifty and very useful ukulele-specific tuner that fits handedly on the head of the uke. It is a Snark tuner and has been very handy, indeed.

    It is an Oscar Schmidt tenor ukulele. It isn't the cheapest one you can get and it isn't the best one money can buy. It is a great little instrument and I've had a really good time learning to play it. I've had it a month and play it almost everyday. There are a great many uke-friendly and uke-themed websites out there and they've been very helpful as I try to learn a completely new instrument; especially the user-friendly website of Dr. Uke! Mel also found some very useful apps that we downloaded to our super-cool new iPad (Thanks mom and dad a 1000x). I have learned about 15 or so chords and about 5 or 6 songs by memory and can play along to many more. FH likes it and we carry it all around the house and yard and make our merry music. He seems to really like it and I think we can really anticipate the formation of a Dark Family band that may rival the ole' Van Trapp family; except we won't have a Maria, but we do have an FH and a uke. What will be more awesome than a 3 year old who can play a uke, I ask you? Nothing is the correct reply.

The King and a Uke.

My uke taking a swing. 

Thanks for reading and here's to many years of great songs coming out of my little uke,

   David