From the time she was a baby, Alysa grew up hearing and seeing her older brother, Perry, play the guitar and drums, going to his gigs and developing her very own desire to perform. She use to grab the antique popcorn popper by the fireplace and pretend to strum it like a guitar while she sang along to her favorite songs on the radio. She got a beginner guitar several years ago for Christmas which we thought would probably satisfy her desire to learn to play. It was just one of those things every child dreams of.....for a while.....and then moves past......we THOUGHT. She kept nagging us, though, so we'd been telling her we'd get her a guitar and start her on lessons since before we moved to Kentucky. In the back of our minds we were still thinking it was just a "shallow" want, not anything that would really last. But her persistence has continued and with all the young talented artists on the scene today, we decided if she was willing to seriously pursue it, we'd do what we could to support her, just like we did for her brother. So yesterday when Mark got off work, we made a surprise visit to the music store and purchased her first real guitar (a Hanna Montana) and signed her up for lessons, to begin this coming Monday after school. She is absolutely tickled. The guy at the music shop let her choose a bunch of picks she liked. She keeps them all ligned out on her dresser, least favorite to favorite, and has already chosen the one she is going to take with her when she plays at the Grand Ole Opry (that would be the dark purple one on the far right). Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open, friends. 'Cause one day you just might hear and see our sweet girl playing and singing her heart out on stage.
