Party Like a Rock Star

The 40 dollar guitar I bought a month ago is probably now worth millions. It has been played by Steven Tyler, after all. He's the lead singer of Aerosmith...also the man with the biggest mouth and most feminine look on the planet, both of which are totally cool with me. So how in the world did he get his hands on my guitar? Well, it's a little different than you might expect.

My laid-back buddy, fellow American and volunteer, David and I were meeting some of his students at the school where he teaches. We were planning to go to the beach and what is a trip to the beach without some time spent chillin' on the guitar? Exactly. We arrived at the school, guitar in hand, only to find that there was a gigantic party happening. All 4 million students and staff (approximate number) were packed into the auditorium for a preliminary party before the party. The air had the typical mixed smell of body odor and perfume, common to any decent concert. All in attendance must have had some ungodly sugar fix before arriving, too. They were hyped.

The director spotted me with my guitar and asked if I would like to perform for everyone. David said I looked like I'd been punched in the face, but holding true to my 'Why Not?" philosophy of life, I obliged. When they asked what my name was I told them with a bit of choked back laughter, "Steven Tyler." My palms were sweaty by the time the MC got on the mike and excitedly blasted, "blah faljf blah ldioaul blah, Steven Tyler!!"

The audience loved me as evidenced by their mobbing me on my salmon-swimming-upstream-esque effort to exit. Needless to say, I now cannot walk anywhere in this area without being solicited for autographs and a chance to play my guitar. I've signed shirts, hands, pants, discarded candy wrappers, school notebooks, all while the kids scream my name wildly. I laugh to myself every time some random stranger on the street calls my name, which is a daily occurrence.

Music is a great equalizer when it comes to language barriers, too. I carry my guitar with me to most places because I've found that I meet infinitely more people that way. We swap songs and sometimes get back together to jam. It's definitely provided a lot of fun memories with strangers and we have a load of fun with it at work, too, doing spontaneous harmonica, guitar, drum and dance sessions. My chubby 5-yr. old host brother now holds hilarious nightly concerts as well. Maybe all these memories are where it's transformed itself into a million-dollar prize.