John Strums Again

For more than a month the brace to hold my surgically-repaired arm in place impeded many activities, including normal guitar playing. When I improved to the point I could play at all, I still could strum only by waving my thumb across the strings.



In small doses, my arm could tolerate finger picking.



This week, the brace finally came off. Strumming still stresses my arm, but I can hold a pick and do it for short durations. As an added bonus for you, playing using a pick makes the guitar much louder than when strumming with the thumb. This helps drown out the vocals on this song still incomplete.



Photos by Melissa Matisko using Pancho's camera.

Dear Kitty

We will agree that it's OK for you to lick water out of the toilet, provided that we also agree that it's NOT OK for you to lick food off of my plate.

I realize that cats don't agree to things. They don't negotiate. So let's call this a declaration.

Yet Cans of Tuna Get Smaller

In case that's hard to read, it says that the average restaurant meal is four times larger now than it was in the 1950s. And, adults are, on average 26 pounds heavier.

You wanna supersize that?

Overheard Inside My Head

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me five or six times and I will start to catch on.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

RoboReporter

My stat counter tells me that someone found this blog by Google searching "sarasota abc 7 whats wrong with john mcquiston's right arm." So I should tell you what happened that led to me having to wear this contraption on the aforementioned appendage.

I was mauled by a bear while saving a small child from its clutches.

You're right: not really. But it's much more exciting than what really happened, which is a chronic injury to a biceps tendon that gave way one day and required surgery to fix.

But if anyone asks, do me a favor, will you? Tell them the bear story. I always wanted to be a hero.