For me, it was always the money. I had a wife and two young children to support, house and car payments, you know, the usual stuff that most people pay every day of their lives.

As for being able to play, yep, I can play, at least enough to be a good entertainer. As I said, I never claimed to be a musician, but does that single me out as a non-professional? Additionally, I was making a great living, enough to put together 3 retirement programs for that day that I could no longer be on stage, which abruptly came three years ago. Most of the pros that I knew went to their graves having no insurance whatsoever, not enough in the bank to pay their funeral expenses, and left huge piles of dept to their family.

Now, I cannot say enough about the musical skills and proficiency of a pro player, and I knew many of them during the 30 years I was an entertainer. Many were in my audiences, none ever came up to me with a sideways look, I believe because I was working and they were not. My dad has a great saying back in the day "The only thing that money cannot buy is POVERTY - You can rent all that other stuff." Dad was pretty damned smart and most of the time, he was right about many of the issues we encountered.

Diki, I am very, very proud of the choices I have made during the past 8 decades on Planet Earth and being a professional, musical entertainer was among my best achievements. Helping others who wished to do the same was among the best achievements, as well. That's why I am still here.

All the best,

Gary