Mildred Opaline Jenkins

Some of you have heard of Conway Twitty. He was a rock singer in the '50s who became a country singer in the '60s. He recorded many, many albums. He also sang a few duets with Loretta Lynn. He remains one of my favorite artists for the songs he chose and the soul he put into them. He died of an abdominal aneurysm in June 5, 1993. Or so they think. He died alone on his bus and they are not sure if it happened before or after midnight. His real name was not "Conway Twitty," though. It was Harold Lloyd Jenkins. He took the name "Conway" from Conway, Arkansas, and the name "Twitty" from Twitty, Texas.

That's where the last name of my guitar comes from--Jenkins.

The first name of my guitar is Mildred. I like that name because it once was popular, but now it's not. I like retro, I guess. The middle name of my guitar comes from the mother-in-law of a mentor, a friend, and a role model who happens to be an elected official in a small Virginia town.

Mildred Opaline Jenkins. (Guitars are feminine like cars and boats.)

Last Saturday, I was working out a couple of songs I had written. During the process, I was tuning Mildred when a string broke. That left only 5 strings. Now I am in the search for a new set of guitar strings here in Manhattan. I tried one place in East Midtown. It had closed already by 6pm. There is another place in West Midtown I hope to try before the end of the week.

Mildred is injured, but she will recover. And while I am sad for her, I know that she will be better than ever in just a few short days!