Hello. This is Charlie Trotter.

There’s illiteracy on every sign.

Just when I’m sure one of my honks has died alone again, I dial up favstar a few days later to find Chris has starred it. This has happened often enough to be a pattern, which left me thinking, “Maybe it’s a Ginger thing,” which I quickly dismissed out of hand.

Until I read this.

Solidarity!

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment Stalone regretted agreeing to this shoot-up-YouTube’s-interface-fourth-wall-cute-cute, but this face is approaching what he might have felt at delivering the closing line, “Don’t forget to SHARE!”

Messy: hektor & andy

In college I wrote a song called “Messy.” On our little Bible campus of 400 students, it was a hit. College is funny that way. A dear friend and his dear friend moved to Kentucky the next year, which is what many people from our school did, and started a band. They wrote a lot of music and played a lot of shows and asked permission to use my song.

I loved what they did with it. Recently they put an album on Amazon, including my song. If you buy it, I will get some money one day, and you will get satisfaction instantly. Really, get the whole album if you can. Hektor and Andy are full of vim and vigor and urine and flati, and I love them.

The Pig (via chaztoo)

I sure do love this little thing. I’m usually pretty happy to make things for their own sake, but last night this little project became something more.

We’ve been getting our butts kicked by our oldest girl, Turbo G. She’s four years old and extraordinarily strong-willed. We’ve had a lot of no-friends-no-videos-no-books days lately. One of our favorite things is “Rasslin’” time. When I get home from work, the kids and I pile onto our bed for an all-out brawl. I’m not trying to boy-up my two little girls, they initiate these little matches by coming up and slugging me. We love it.

Yesterday Turbo-G couldn’t wrestle because she had been a turd all day, which was a bummer for both of us. So, I had her come out back and sit quietly while I went through the last stage of the build. She stayed cool. She asked to help.

When it was time to install the pickup I had to work an old guitar string through the body to pull the jack back through and into place. The string had some floss on it. She was the string-puller, keeping tension on it while I tried to put the nut on to keep it in place. It only took us two tries.

At one point she said the old, “When I grow up I want to be just like you.” line. Dirty pool, huh?

This morning when she woke up, it was finished. She beamed as she took it in. We made a guitar together. We salvaged a rotten day and have something permanent to show for it.

According to Mommy, today is already shaping up to be another rotten day, and we will surely have more. But, small victories.

Finished. It sounds so righteous through the amp. Video soon.

Hole drilled for jack.

Holes drilled for mounting pickup in the tiny soundhole.

Pickup and jack soldered back together.