An instrument can imply the world to the musician who performs it.
For one B.C. lady, a classic cherry pink Guild Starfire was a reminder of the person her father was once. However now, that guitar, and the connection it revived, has gone lacking.
Michael Vecchio struggles with dementia. Two years in the past, the now-75-year-old requested his daughter Connie Vecchio to carry his prized guitar, which he’d owned for nearly 50 years, to his Castlegar care house, Talarico Place.
Connie, who lives in Kelowna, did so with out hesitation. Michael would decide up the guitar to play throughout subsequent visits, and Connie mentioned he’d develop into “himself once more.”
“He sees the guitar… After which he’d type of begin bobbing his head, and earlier than we all know it, we’re in a second,” Connie mentioned.
The final time Connie visited her father in his room was February 2020, earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic modified visitation protocols. The guitar sat on a stand within the nook of his room beside two amplifiers.
Care house employees just lately knowledgeable Connie they couldn’t discover the guitar. Checking a basement storage space, employees situated the amps and the stand, however no hint of the guitar.
Not figuring out what to do, Connie posted her story to Fb. She mentioned the group response has been immense, with folks even providing to present Michael a brand new guitar. However, “except it’s a cherry Guild Starfire,” Connie mentioned it simply wouldn’t be the identical.
“That’s the guitar,” she mentioned. “… It’s that factor that brings any individual again.”
* VINTAGE GUILD STARFIRE GUITAR MISSING FROM CARE HOME IN CASTLEGAR *
RCMP FILE # 2021-719Thanks to the group…
Posted by Connie Vecchio on Thursday, March 11, 2021
Michael purchased the guitar within the ’70s off of Nick Keraiff — higher generally known as Buddy Marr, the frontman of a well-liked Kootenay band referred to as the Versatiles. Ever since then, he’s stored the guitar in impeccable form. Guitars of an identical ilk have been listed in on-line marketplaces for greater than $2,000.
Connie has filed a police report and is providing a no-questions-asked $1,000 reward for the guitar’s protected return. These with info can attain out to Connie on Fb or the guitar could be dropped off at Johnny’s Gasoline in Robson, B.C., which is owned by one in every of Michael’s pals.
“I’m so hopeful any individual will simply return it to my dad and assist him have some pleased moments in his final chapter.”
Do you could have one thing so as to add to this story, or one thing else we must always report on? E-mail: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
@michaelrdrguez
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