🎸 Middle-Aged Guitarist Series 18: When Guitars Take Over the House

Guitar storage space encroaches on daily life

Guitarists are creatures who say,
"You only need as many guitars as you actually use,"
but
that "necessary amount" automatically multiplies as they age.

When I was young, I was satisfied with just one hanging on the wall.
That was the beginning.
That was the initial stage of the entire "invasion."

■1. At first, it was just "one wall"

When I installed a wall hook in the corner of the room—
the middle-aged guitarist thought:

"Yeah, this looks like a studio."

That should have been enough, but
gradually, another one on the wall,
another one on a stand,
one more left out of its case...

Before I knew it, people started asking:

"Are you running a guitar shop?"

No, that's not it.
It's just a hobby.
It's just that the walls are naturally drawn to guitars.

■2. Before I knew it, "half the room" became a guitar zone

Once they couldn't fit on one wall,
the guitars slowly invaded my living space.

• Slide the bed 10cm to the side

• Move the bookshelf to another room

• Clear away the stool

• Evacuate items from the table to another shelf

And in the end, this is what happens:

Main occupants of the room: The guitars
Secondary occupant of the room: The middle-aged man himself

The middle-aged man lives in the gaps between the guitars.
I don't even know who the owner is anymore.

■3. Finally, territorial expansion into the "hallway"

As the number of guitars increases, so does the number of cases.

Cases are heavy, bulky, and take up space.
As a result, the next step of the invasion begins.

Guitar cases lined up in the hallway.

At first, I intended to leave them there only temporarily.
But before I knew it, that 'temporary' period had lasted months.

Now, it's like this.

• Family shoes: 5 pairs

• Guitar cases: 8

What dominates the entrance of the house isn't shoes, but an
army of guitars.

My family asks.

'Hey... how many guitarists are supposed to be living here?'

The middle-aged man doesn't answer.
He can't answer.

■④ The house's traffic flow changes into a 'guitar-centric map'

Before I knew it, the paths inside the house
were being optimized to fit the placement of the guitars.

• Hallway corner → Walk on the inside to avoid the cases

• Path to the bathroom → Move on tiptoes in the middle of the night to avoid touching the cases

• Vacuum cleaner route → A 'slalom style' path weaving between the guitars

The middle-aged man himself starts to feel less like a resident of the house and more like a
native living on a guitar-centered island.

■⑤ Guitars increase more than family belongings

My family asks.

'Hey... didn't these increase again?'

The middle-aged man says this.

"They haven't increased (they have)."

When one guitar is added,
straps, cases, cables, and stands inevitably increase as well.

When one guitar enters the house,
the "accompanying accessories" that come with it
start breeding on their own.

■⑥ There are too many reasons not to let go

Even when his family tells him, "Let's organize,"
the middle-aged man shakes his head.

Because
the guitars sitting there are not just instruments, but...

• memories of his band days when he was young

• the one he bought with his first paycheck

• one he happened to find used

• he liked the color

• it feels lonely to just throw it away

• he grew attached to it before he knew it

They are like "bookmarks" of his life.

There is no way he can let them go.

■⑦ And then the middle-aged man realizes

When the guitars have increased so much that they are crowding his life,
the middle-aged guitarist reaches a certain state of mind.

"They aren't taking over the house. This was a house for guitars from the start."

It makes no sense to his family,
but he truly believes it.

It's not that the guitars invaded the house,
it's just that the middle-aged man has founded a "Guitar Nation."

■ Summary

Guitars multiply before you realize it,
and before you know it, they have taken over your home.

But that sight is,
for a guitarist, something to be proud of,
a little funny,
and also a little bit happy.

A house with more guitars than family members.
A house with cases lined up in the hallway.
A house with walls filled with guitars.

That house is surely,
quietly and surely,
embracing rock and roll.