A Prodigal Guitar

Kay Ezkanazi's Hill Crossover guitar was stolen out of her car. Kay has played a Hill Guitar Crossover for a number of years. She is a well known performer in Northern California, an influential teacher and one of our very good customers. I got a call from her early one Monday to tell me that her guitar had been stolen out of her car, along with her laptop and a briefcase full of sheet music. This is terrible, and she left me the serial number, date etc., just in case someone were to contact us about it. I promised to at least mention it here on the blog — you never know. She was offering a reward for its return, no questions asked.

So, small world, when my right hand man Larry came in and I told him the story, and he said "Really? That's odd. Last week I was talking to to so and so at Fine Fretted Friends in Livermore about a completely unrelated French polish question, and while on the phone someone came into their store wanting to sell a Hill Crossover. Could this be a clue?"

Yes, it could. Most retailers have been in that situation, with a stranger trying to sell something well below it's value for cash, and Michael went ahead an purchased the guitar, knowing that either there was something fishy, or he was at least going getting a good deal. And, as crazy luck would have it, Michael got their drivers license, vehicle license and address. Then, when they cashed his check, they were even captured on the bank video system.

We were able to put Michael and Kay together, and sure enough it was her well loved guitar, they are working out a reunion. At this moment the police have custody of the guitar, but it should be eventually released to Kay. The cost of buying the guitar from the scoundrel SHOULD be picked up by the insurance company, in my humble opinion. I hope that's how it comes out. Regardless it's a small price to pay for the return of the guitar.

There's more. They identified the perps and were going to get them. Two guys, one on parole, an the other on a no-bail parole, meaning when they pick him up he's going back to the slammer, period. I mean, how dumb are these guys? It sounds like they wanted to go back to prison.

I worked for many years teaching guitar making in Soledad prison. I got to know a number of very serious offenders, and became close friends with some. I learned the humanity of many of these people, and understood something about how they got there. There was some crazy stuff, and eventually I started to see them as "Volunteers", felons who just keep doing bad stuff, way past the point of no return. Really, there's no explaining it.