John Hendow

This past weekend I had breakfast with my best friend from high school. It was the first time we’ve managed to get together in over 20 years, although we’ve stayed in touch via mail and email. The group in attendance for breakfast included my friend + wife and his brother + wife; all four of whom attended high school with me and were good friends as well. They also brought along a sampling of children from their mutual collection, who were a delight to meet. My wife got to finally put some faces on the names from my circle of friends, which was fun.

It’s amazing how much and how little changes over time. We all look more or less as we used to… a bit of gray hair on the men, but overall we’re the same guys. We’re definitely taken different roads over the years, and perhaps that was the most interesting aspect of our breakfast discussion… sharing the stories of adventures and recounting our careers and hobbies. Many of our mutual friends are still in the area, although most have drifted apart over the years and are no longer on our radar.

I don’t find myself looking back at my high school years with a great deal of longing to revisit those times. I was happy and felt socially connected in high school, but don’t feel strongly compelled to recreate those times.

What I do feel is a strong sense of connection to my good friend and his family. It makes me very thankful for the great bond that we have shared over the years, and for the gift of their friendship.

Another gig is on the horizon, and I need to learn 45 songs in the next week! My friends in 80s Invasion asked me if I could fill in for an upcoming show, which means transcribing and learning 45 songs in short order. I also need to program all the necessary guitar patches to play this set. It’ll be a good workout for my new preamp / effects unit, and I’m looking forward to using it in this setting. I haven’t gotten a flight case for it yet so this may be an interesting logistical challenge as well.

Fortunately, a portion of the songs don’t have much exposure on the guitar parts. About a third of the set has songs with signature guitar parts and solos, and I’ll be cramming to learn those elements. It’ll be a good challenge and a fun gig.