Every guitarist's greatest fear. And it just happened.

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Approximately one month ago, I played an old folks home gig with Debbie's band, The Diablo Rhythm Wranglers. She's the one I've kvetched about in the past. She has to be the center of attention and often interrupts my conversations with audience members to change the subject to her. At the old folks gig, she was fiddling with wires (not her specialty), and managed to KNOCK MY GUITAR OVER. I'm not talking the $500 Larrivee I once used for gigs. I call that one my "beer guitar." I'm talking my $3500 Collings OM-1, a great guitar that provides rhythm guitar on all of my YouTube videos and is my current "gigging" guitar. The thing survived with only minor damage, and I was able to buff out most of the scratches she caused. This morning, I received the picture I've attached in a message from my buddy Rick. He's one of the East Bay's best acoustic musicians, and played a gig yesterday, outside on a windy day. The wind knocked over a tent next to where he was playing, the tent fell on his guitar (which was on a guitar stand), and the result was A BROKEN NECK. This is his $2500 Martin HD-28, I believe. l just got an email from him, saying he's at the house of one of the best luthiers in town, and that the luthier will be able to fix the guitar for him. I asked him how much it will cost. My guess is only $200 or so, since it's a simple glue and clamp job, but it's still a horror. Steve Goodman sings "it ain't hard to get along with somebody else's troubles," but I feel his pain. It's like watching someone you know and like take a softball in the groin. I sent him some serious guitar healing vibes this morning. Please send yours.