In a Little While IV

Hmm.

Well Monday night at Rob's place was fun, had a great time trying out his '59 Gibson Les Paul Reissue, which had the wickedest tone I've ever heard live. I mean, that guitar could produce crunch tones ona clean channel. THAT is amazing.

Anyhow, Alvin, Rob and myself managed to record down a relatively successful take of 'To You', a new track on our up-and-coming album "Steak & Onions", which is currently enjoying the backing of Rob (who incidentally is the editor of the Foreign section of the Straits Times Singapore).

FYI, Robert Lloyd Bartlett is 53 years old, a cancer victim-still-healing, and guitarist extraordinaire. While it is so much more easier for me to ramble on about the little things which happened during the jam session, I want to focus on a more serious issue.

See, Rob's mum has been sick for quite a while, and her situation has always been rather dire, and as Rob put it "it's cancer and a broken back", and one of the main reasons Monday night was a possibility was because Rob's mum suddenly was able to respond to the medication which the doctors prescribed. Rob told me a couple of days prior to last monday that he was afraid that his mum might not make it, so I offered him my prayers, which he eventually thanked me for after he received news that his mum was ok.

Today, as I finished up my shift, played four songs and had a conversation with Robert, he told me that he was afraid that tonight he might just receive the phone call which announces his mother's death. Being a man who has just offered his services to two guys trying to clobber an album together and also offering to put down 100 bucks (Gerry also offered to put down another 100 bucks) for an 8-track mixer... I can't bear to put him through the dilemma of whether he should rush home and speak to his mum one last time or stay behind and cut an album with me and Alvin.

He told me this dilemma, and I told him:

"Robert, say no more. You have to take care of yourself, and please do not feel obligated to continue if the circumstances do not allow us to continue working as a result of your absence. Do what you must, but first and foremost, you need to take care of yourself. Do not worry about our work as much, if not more than your own personal health."

As I mentioned earlier, Robert is a cancer-survivor, but he's still in a relatively fragile condition... on top of the risk of cancer remission, he's also got arthritis in his hands and just this morning he had bleeding in the stomach. I cannot so selfish so as to put this man's health at risk as a result of completing a project on schedule.

Robert is truly a remarkable man. I was introduced to him not more than a month or two back, and a little over and hour ago, I had my arm around his shoulder and consoling him and bringing him back from possible depression. This man opened my eyes again with his musical prowess and charisma. Most possibly I would go so far as to name him my personal idol.

As I left the pub, and sat in the taxi... I thanked Gerry for the cash to take a cab, and I also prayed for Robert and his mum. Never have I prayed so hard for someone whom I met just two months ago. I'm still praying for Robert, and I'll probably pray for him before I hit the sack.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy