Though I hate to brag about this, I have to say that I was blessed with a fine ear for music. By this, I play one hell of a gutbucket. It just comes naturally to me.
At Sandcastle, we hosted Bob and Billy Grunzinger. When I picked them up at Red Hook, I said, “Now who is Bob, and who is Billy?” He said, “I’m Bob, she’s Billy. “ Okay, now that’s straightened out.
Bob was a musician and brought his clarinet. One day, he and I got together in the dining room—he on his clarinet—me on the gutbucket. Bob was playing some great impromptu jazz, while I accompanied him perfectly on the “base”.
One time he paused, and I thought he had stopped playing, so I did too. He immediately shouted—”Don’t stop—don’t stop, keep on playing.” So I then took the lead, and he improvised accompaniment. Man, did we ever have some fun that afternoon! Wow, we were damn good together! What beautiful music poured out.
Marie snapped a picture of us and, because of poor lighting, it didn’t turn out very good. We now have her picture in a photo album. So I have taken a picture of a picture. The outcome here is lousy, but you get the idea.
George and his wife, Marie, sailed professionally, chartering boats in the Bahamas, then in the Virgin Islands. They then leased an uninhabited island, Little Thatch, in the British Virgin Islands, and turned it into a small hotel. After six years, they left the island and bought a lovely beachfront property on Jost Van Dyke (BVI) where they built Sandcastle Hotel and the original Soggy Dollar Bar. George is now the author of Incredible Virgin Island Adventure: A True Story.
Oh George I so remember you and your gut bucket!!!!!!!