Hey Doug,
I solved the problem with my wife that watches Tv every evening while I am playing music every evening. I designed the new house around the recording studio and thought it was well enough insulated to keep the sound in here. Well at 100 watts per channel it doesnt, so I bought her a set of stereo wireless earphones with self charging batteries and charger. plugged them into the TV and that is the end of my problem and my report. Give it a try, it works great
Bebop

Grandpa Doug...I trust your wife wasn't looking over your shoulder when you mentioned the part about her wrinkles! If we see no more posts from you, then we'll know the answer!!

Hey BEBOP,

I think were on to something. One of the main reasons I signed up on this forum was to exchange ideas on using our KN’s. Tip’s and tricks, sounds and edits, styles and wiles, etcetera and etcetera. It now dawn’s on me there’s something greater than all of us musicians. Greater problems confront us even before we sit down to play our great sounds and compositions. Aghast! Our Wives!!!

You and I have solved this in each his own way. I think it’s about time somebody would start a new thread. If I would dare to undertake this I think I would name the thread -
“OKB & TLW” (Our KeyBoard and The Little Woman)

There must be many other players out there with the same problems we have experienced in the process of rendering our great compositions. Lets us share our solutions to this great and perplexing problem confronting most of us. Only then can we sit down and enjoy our playing with peace of mind. First things first!

Wada U think?

(not quite a grandpa yet, but who knows .... the kids are getting older everyday - thankfully, I.....AM NOT)

Doug - your writing style is very refreshing. Welcome to the gang.

Hi Douglas,
Welcome to the Forum, however, I must protest! Your wife/glasses/wrinkles story has serious holes in it! Perhaps instead of taking your glasses off when you look at your wife to enjoy her everlasting beauty, you should leave them on. Except, wear them backwards! I am not positive this will work, but I think they might reflect the full truth of this matter. Your wife has been beautiful all along! While shaving in the morning and looking at yourself in a foggy mirror, you have been mistaking those deep grooves in your face as character lines! :eek By wearing your glasses backwards, perhaps you will see the reflection of your face clearly and you will instead be saying to yourself, "How lucky can an old looking duffer like me be to have such a young, beautiful and charming wife that has put up with me all these years". Be warned though, don't let your wife catch you with your glasses on backwards! She might just see that those aren't character lines and trade you in for two 40's.

Now I must go on and mention your OKB & TLW (Our keyboard and the little woman) club! That will never work! In my house, hubby watches TV (I gave up years ago trying to get any semblence of control over the remote!) and I play my PR. I am the one who has to wear the headphones! The Lord of the Palace isn't about to wear headphones just so the Lady can entertain herself! (Pay attention, BEBOP, and give you wife a big old sloppy, wet kiss for wearing those headphones!) So, in conclusion, you will have to scrap the name of your club and choose one a little more appropriate! Perhaps OTI & LSS (Our Technics Instruments and Long Suffering Spouses). But, with your quick wit, I am sure you will come up with something even better.

Finally, in all seriousness now, it is great to have you on the Forum and I look forward to reading your ingenious posts!
Carol

BEBOP, Bud, Uncle Dave and Carol,

Hey Bud and Carol, I’m still here. I really did not want to admit it, but if you really want to know the full truth of matter I kind of got the idea about the glasses from my wife. Occasionally when the little woman would come up to me, put her arms around me, run her fingers through my hair and tenderly kiss me, I noticed before she done anything she took her glasses off. At first I was under the impression she wanted me to see her as she looked when we were younger, no glasses and beautiful. As she would approach and get closer to me in these somewhat rare moments, I would experience her warm lovely breath on my cheek, look into her big beautiful blue eyes and see the large puffy bags under them with deep wrinkly lines flowing downward, skirting her big red lovely puckered up lips and gently flowing down under chin number two. Carol, your right, one day while shaving I did look closely at the reflection in the mirror. After taking into account what I was really seeing and pondering over the visual image filtering in through my green, red bloodshot eyeballs I kind of changed my theory about the glasses. It was really Ruth who wanted to see me as when I was younger and handsome. After doing a lot of damage control to my ego I figured the old saying had a lot of merit. “If you can’t beat em, join em.” So off came the glasses. And that's the rest of the story.

Uncle Dave,

Thanks for the welcome. As far as my writing style I tell it like I see it. When I do things I’m always considerate of my wife. I always give her a choice in decisions, she can come with me or stay home. As you no doubt can tell I do not take things very seriously. I enjoy my work, I enjoy married life, my kids and the things I do. Musically I play the things I like and I like to make it swing and present it with a flair of my own. My philosophy in life is when I do anything, I strive to do it to the best of my ability. In all things, work or play. When I buy tractors, trucks and equipment for my business or my pleasure I always look for quality. Some times I get stuck, so I go by the old Chinese proverb: “You fool me once, shame on you. You fool me twice shame on me”. Sorry about your keyboard. There is absolutely no substitute for quality as far as I’m concerned. No sense complaining, many of the manufactures today only look at the bottom line. Throw the junk away and apply that Old Chinese Proverb. Good Luck.

BEBOP and Carol,

I know you all are not going to believe this. Cross my fingers and hope to die, this is the bare faced truth. Looking everybody straight in the eye. What am I talking about? Bebop and Carol I’m talking about your spouses, the TV and playing the keyboard problem. As we discussed before, playing the keyboard, technical problems and such are minor compared to having peace in the family when playing. Yes, I have completely solved the issue of TV verses the melodic sounds wafting through the ether from our beautiful computerized instruments. Yes the conflict of TV voices and beautiful music colliding in mid air between the two has been completely remedied in my household. Not in a four lettered word but in four words. Not just four words but in four words of action. Yes, action is the key word in solving this problem. in one decisive grand move thirty two years ago this TV problem has been put to rest. I threw it out. Never did I realize the benefits. The six kids improved their grades, supper was on the table when I came home from work, everybody in the house learned how to talk to each other, saved on electricity and repair bills and they even had some respect for the old man. Even to this very day I don’t have any TV problems like BEBOP and Carol. Carol, I’m still working on a new name for the club.

Grandpa Doug ---------with no TV

Dear Grandpa Doug,
You leave me speechless -- and that doesn't happen very often! Have you ever considered writing romance novels? I think you missed your calling! Give Ruth a sympathetic hug from me -- I have a feeling she can't win with you, you just plain charm the socks off her! How more wonderful can it get?
Carol

Carol,

As you can plainly see I'm a man of few words. When I met Ruth I was so infactuated I was going to write a love story and give it to her. The reason being I was very bashful. Words stuck in my throat. At first she may have thought: Maybe he might be a little retarded. In any event we started to go on dates. She lived on a farm about a mile down the road. Her dad used to raise melons, carrets and the like. He was getting up in age and decided to raise pigs and a few cattle a couple of years before I met Ruth. Truck farming was getting too labor intensive for him.

You guessed it! After three years I finaly got up the courage to open my mouth and asked her if she would like to consider marrying me if I would ask. (I wasn't to handy with words at the time). This all took place in her barnyard after we came home from a date to the local drive-in movie. My hands trembling and sweat whelling up on my forehead, she with a rather loud bellow, exclaimed, Yes yes yes, anything to get away from these stinking old pigs. After fifty two years of blissful togetherness we are still together. Ruth still sticks with her decision never regreting her choice. I guess it's in all the way one looks at things.

I am glad I never wrote that romance story that you say I should right, but decided to live it instead. I too am sticking with my decision.

Too bad about you being speechless. I must say you'r the first woman I have ever met in that condition. Could you coach Ruthie?

Grandpa Doug