Accordion & First dance

Today is April 14th.  Has it been that long since I posted?
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A couple of my band director-type  "friends"  sent me the cartoon.  I can tell you that I am truly hurt.   This cartoon really hurts -  Hurts bad.  So bad.  Bad.   There is a cartoon that is suppose to be in this box.  A lady is telling a burglar to steal her husband's accordion before the husband comes home.  Cute cartoon.

 

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I played my first real dance job on the accordion.  Made $5. 

We played at the Lubbock Country Club - HIGH COTTON  --  3 of us - all still in High School.     The 3Ms.   Me on Accordion, My brother Jim played  string bass, and Doc McKay on the drums.   Metze, Metze, & McKay... The 3 Ms

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After a while, a very short while,  they paid us off, and we went to a movie. .. I don't remember what we saw.  Apparently I must have known a lot of songs to think I could play the melody ( with harmony ) for 3 full hours.  "Naive," comes to mind.    I'm gonna guess I was in 8th or 9th grade.  Maybe, 10th?  By the 10th we were bringing our horns to play and added a few more folks...other high school friends.  This was pre-guitar era unless you were a country band.

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The drummer, Doc's  mom had set up the gig for us.  She & Doc's dad stayed at the dance when we left.  After the show we picked them up and drove them home back to Levelland - I seem to remember they were fairly pickled.  Doc drove.   Now that I think about it, Jim & I must have driven our own car since we had to transport that string bass. 

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The string bass was placed over the seats covering most of the back seat.   2 adults and 3 musicians plus a drum set and a string bass - that would pretty much fill up a car, even one of those old timey Buicks.    I can't remember.  We all got a driver's license at age 14.  Later in life, I got a 1963 Pontiac Star Chief.  The bass would fit completely in the trunk of that car.

 

Y'know,  $5 was not bad pay at the time.  I was pretty happy with the whole evening and too stupid to realize we had been insulted.  My mom tried to tell us that the adults at the Country Club didn't want some high school kids watching them get drunk.   True Insight?    Or, lack of great music? 

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Let's go with my mom's opinion - Our music was too advanced for their ears, and they wanted to get looped. 

Mtz