Ever Wonder Why

   A couple of months ago, October 22nd
to be exact, I listened to part of the Prairie Home Companion radio show.  The part I heard included a short
conversation with Steve Wariner, who
I had never heard of until then.  Garrison
Keillor described him as a “guitar heavy.”   Later I heard Steve sing and play, and I have
to agree with Garrison.

   Steve has been in the music business since
he was 17, starting in 1973 as a bass player with the Dottie West Band.  Four years later he was hired by Chet Atkins
as a bass player.  He told a story from his
days with Chet that stuck with me; first because it’s funny, and second because
there is a real lesson for me, and maybe for you, in it.

   Steve’s story goes like this.  During a show with Chet Atkins, while a
singer was performing, and Steve, Chet, and the rest of the band was playing,
Chet moved slowly across the stage until he was standing beside Steve.  Without pausing or even looking at Steve,
Chet whispered, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a great bass player?”

   Steve, feeling a bit flattered, still
playing, whispered back, “No, no one ever has.”

   To which Chet replied, “Do you ever wonder
why?”

*********

    I've thought about that story so much I’ve
created the scene in my mind; and every time I let it play in my head, I laugh.
 And every time I laugh, I ask myself, Has anyone ever told you that you’re a great
writer?

   To which I reply, No, no one ever has.

   And
then I hear another voice ask, Do you
ever wonder why?

Well
the truth is, I don’t wonder why, I know why and I’m doing something about it.

**********

Do
you ever wonder why?