Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

As Jamie mentioned in one of her posts, we put a lot of thought into what to bring with us to Micronesia. For me, however, the biggest issue was in determining which musical instrument to bring.

I've played piano almost all of my life, but it didn't seem very practical to bring a keyboard. Last time I brought it on a plane, from Chicago to L.A., the baggage handlers beat it all to hell, and ever since, it sometimes gives me error messages.

This was also enough to rule out bringing my banjo, which my parents unexpectedly got me for Christmas last year and that I had been playing quite a bit ever since. I was even starting to get the hang of it, but seeing as how it's a fairly fragile instrument and I only have a soft case for it, I didn't think it would be a good idea to try to take it on an airplane.

Frankly, I don't know why it is that we, as a society, simply accept that baggage handlers are going to be as rough with our luggage as humanly possible. (And which comes first, getting a job as a baggage handler or being a sociopath with no regard for other people's property?)

In any case, this left me with two choices as far as what instrument to bring, as these were the only two that have hard cases that are deemed "airline safe." These are: my Fender Jaguar electric guitar and my Fender Sonoran acoustic/electric. Despite the fact that the Jaguar is a surf rock guitar, and it almost seems silly to move to an island in the Pacific Ocean (where people actually surf) and not bring it with me, I opted for the acoustic/electric, just because it's more versatile. That is, I don't have to have it plugged into anything if I want to hear it, but I also can plug it in if I want to record.

I keep a bunch of desiccant (silica gel) packets in the case, which the guitar is always in when not actively in use, but I am still a little worried about the humidity. I changed the strings shortly after we got here, and within a week, they were already corroded and dull. I have to clean them with WD-40 once a week and change them every three weeks or so, and I've noticed that the action on the guitar has already been affected somewhat by the climate here. This could mean that the wood is starting to warp or simply that the truss rod needs to be adjusted. I'm hoping for the latter, but either way, it's got me a bit concerned.

On a sidenote, what is it about silica gel packets that necessitates that the words "DO NOT EAT" be printed on the side of every package? Is there something especially appetizing about them? I mean, there are a lot of things that we shouldn't eat, so what makes these so special? Should "In God We Trust," as written on American coinage, be replaced with the somewhat more pragmatic, "Do Not Eat"?

In any case, about a week ago, I was lamenting to a friend of mine here about missing my banjo, and he said that he happened to have one in his closet that someone gave him two years ago but that he had only played a couple of times. After I changed the strings (there were three sets left with the banjo), he asked if I wanted to borrow it.

Well played, universe...
Well played.