Gary's mom, Betty Rice

When we were children, dreams flooded our imaginations as to whether one day we might become famous, successful, and/or perhaps hugely contribute to the betterment of the human race. As young people, we looked around and dreamed of doing things and going places that our elders (we thought) had never dreamed of. Of course, with the passage of time, and as our dreams became new realities, we hopefully did achieve some of our goals, while others were left at the gate of life.

Dreams can be great things. Well thought-out dreams can and do become realities all the time. Every car, book, song, or whatever started out by someone daring to dream in a different way. To be sure, flops abound in the process of dream realizations, but I feel the journey we take towards the fulfillment of our dreams is worth it nearly every time.

Sometimes our goal might be to become famous or successful in some field, although I feel that there is a danger connected with having dreams of fame and success. The problem is simply that terms like fame and success mean different things to different people.

Whether I like it or not, I suppose I'm somewhat famous and successful. Being involved in education for over thirty years, and with special education in particular, I've ended up doing many education-related activities. Therefore I confess to being pretty well-known in those circles. As well, when I started working with the Rock Hall's guitars, and Gary Graff wrote that article about it in the Guitar World magazine (Oct. '95), more fame and success of a different sort followed in the world of guitars. In the course of all this, I decided that I would try to use this so-called "fame and success" to help others navigate their way through similiar situations to those experienced by myself, and to do so through my writings. Hopefully, for example, this column has helped some of you, as that has been my goal. Although even the process of writing columns for several periodicals seems to perpetuate that "fame and success" paradigm.

My dear mother passed away a few years ago. She, on the other hand, was not "famous," nor did she wish to be. She instead wanted all of her glory and fame to be in Heaven. She spent a lifetime of service for others--helping out on the home front in World War II, and also as president of a businesswomen's club at a time when women were rarely seen in the workplace. She was continually active with helping the poor, sick, and downtrodden. She was also a loving wife and mother to Dad and me. On this mid-life reflection of mine (and I hope you'll bear with me as I think this through), she was one of the most "successful" people I've ever known, only in her own quiet way...as a servant of God.

So how will you know when you become successful, famous, or whatever? I would say to you from the wisdom of time that these terms are truly meaningless to me. I just thank God for my time with loved ones, as well as the opportunity to help and serve others with as much wisdom and compassion as I can muster. I can also tell you that, along with faith, music has been a very real blessing to Dad and me while passing through the difficult time after my mother's death. There seems to be a tonic in song and fellowship that is hard to beat.

As a sublime favor to yourself, I would suggest that you let your loved ones know how much they are loved right now--while you can, as the clock continues to tick away at all of our lives. Get some activities to relax with too. In my case, I just grab that guitar or banjo of mine and play the silly things for all they're worth. I don't worry how simple or complicated the song may be, or how talented that I might be. I just PLAY! It helps me to laugh through the tears of life.

Even when Mom was a little girl, she was known as "Sunshine" for the way she spread happiness to others. Even though she had been stricken with serious illness as a child, she loved to dance. I guess she once sang and danced in some play that used the old spiritual tune "Golden Slippers." Her own father was a well-known old-time fiddler, and may have helped to spread the fame of that wonderful old tune. We buried Mom with a pair of her golden slippers, so that she too could "ride in the chariot in the morn."

I've written before of the powerful effect of music in our lives. This is just one more case where the power of a song can lift a heart and help to heal wounded souls. Again I say, laugh, dance, sing, PLAY! It's a great way to mark the pulse of the city and also to be a credit to our mothers. Happy Mothers' Day to these great ladies, wherever they may be.

And yes... Mom? Wherever you are: Dance, Sunshine...dance.