Neither Annie nor Henry could ever figure out where Josh had gotten his talent for the guitar, and for singing for that matter, as nobody in either of their families was particularly musical. Yet, when Josh was six, out of the blue he started begging for a guitar. It took some convincing, mostly because Henry really couldn’t afford to buy a guitar, much less the guitar lessons that were sure to follow, only to have Josh lose interest a month or so later—as kids often do with such obsessions.

Their little boy had been so persistent that Henry and Annie broke down and got him a small, inexpensive, three-quarter size guitar for Christmas the following year. Much to both of their surprise, Josh not only stuck with it, he took lessons twice a week, practiced every day, and became very proficient. Within two years he was playing and singing along with songs he heard on the radio. When he was eleven, he had obviously outgrown his inexpensive guitar and Annie found what turned out to be a 1930’s era Gibson L-00 acoustic guitar with a hard case and strap at a garage sale.

She was able to buy all three items for fifty dollars, only to find out later the guitar alone was actually worth well over a thousand dollars. It was also when Josh was eleven that he was asked to sit in with a local band that was playing at the annual fall festival down at the VFW hall in town. Josh had been a big hit that night, playing and singing songs by Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Willy Nelson. Now, at twelve, Josh had entered the local talent show and had moved confidently through the various stages of competition until he made it to the finals.

The finals were held over in Blanchard, some fifty miles away and over Cambridge pass, which reached an elevation of nearly eight thousand feet. The road was good, although not at all straight, and relatively desolate particularly at night.

Henry never could remember much, if anything of the two-and-a-half-hour show itself. He had been so exhausted from the months of hard work and sporadic rest he fell asleep almost as soon as the lights went dim in the auditorium. Annie woke him just as Josh went on, and Henry fought to stay awake. But even as hard as he tried, he still ended up nodding off about half way through Josh’s performance. Josh took home the first place prize that night for his age group. In his hands he held a big blue ribbon and a check for one hundred and fifty dollars. The plaque with his name on it he would get later after it had been engraved. But it was in the smile on his son’s face that Henry found the biggest reward.

Henry remembered bringing the truck up to the entrance so Annie, who was still on crutches, wouldn’t have to walk all the way out to where the truck was parked. He remembered helping Annie into the truck, putting Josh’s guitar and her crutches in the bed and Josh climbing in next to his mother. He remembered leaving the parking lot and getting on the road that took them over the pass. He could recall Annie and Josh talking, but couldn’t remember what they were talking about. The next thing he always heard was both Annie and Josh screaming in the distance and the sound of breaking glass and twisting metal.