V-Dubs Rock

It arrived today in the mail, something that could change my destiny, my Volkswagen One Act Custom guitar. Get ready world.

I’m getting ahead of myself. I have wanted a Volkswagen Beetle since I can remember. My best friend C’s sister had a Beetle back in the early 80’s and even though I think her sister hated it, I loved it. I have a perfectly fine small car that we had to buy in a pinch back in 2003 when we relocated to St. Louis. H. bought it without me seeing it and every time I take a road trip, he has to hear a ten minute speech about how much I hate that car because it has no cruise control. It’s kind of a love/hate relationship because while I hate that car because it has no cruise control, it has been the mode of transportation to many a memorable show in 2005/2006. Hell, maybe no cruise control was the thing that kept me awake when driving all night back from Chicago or Champaign.

Anyway, back in October I was feeling very down and desperately needing a change. I told H. I wanted to buy a Beetle. Little did I know that Volkswagen had started their V-Dub Rocks campaign and I would get a guitar with my purchase. K was out of town when I made the deal. I had made plans with the salesman to pick the car up the following Saturday. I called K, a fellow Beetle owner, to tell her and I said something like, “Well, fate has played its hand. I bought a Beetle this weekend and I get a guitar that plugs into the car with it. I guess I won’t be buying a set of drums when I finish my master’s in December. I’m gonna learn how to play guitar”. I’ll never forget her response, “But you’re a drummer”. I just laughed because immediately in my mind my response back was “No, I’m a woman heading towards middle age with occasional anger issues. A drummer I am not”. Anyway, I love that K doesn’t lose faith in my dreams even though I bathe in a healthy dose of self-loathing each day.

So the guitar arrived today. H. immediately had to go out to the garage to plug into the Beetle and try it. H. always keeps a radio on in the garage and as he was plugging in, a Led Zeppelin song blasted from the radio’s speakers. I said to him, “Let me turn this off so as not to get you and Jimmy Page confused”. He smirked. So, according to VW, I am now an owner of a guitar and an amplifier that doubles as a car. I am going to try and learn how to play a bit. My brother M tried to teach me some chords when I was a teenager and after realizing playing guitar hurts your fingers, I quickly dismissed the exercise. That was before childbirth. Now I can do anything. --J