Sam and his only son Little Sam played at open sessions almost every week. They had a small following of listeners, mostly middle-aged couples who loved the sound of bluegrass and rock and roll. The two Sams had played together ever since Sam had bought Little Sam his first guitar at the age of seven. When Sam’s wife of 43 years suddenly passed away, he put his instrument away for a long while. Little Sam convinced him to begin playing again. “You have lost your first love, Dad,” he pleaded, “don’t lose your second one.” And so Sam played again. 
photo credit: Bjorn Rudberg
This is my entry to Friday Fictioneers, weekly photo prompt using 100 words…. check out the other stories at this link
Retired Ruth 
A lovely short story indeed… Eternal love and eternal friendship.
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Excellent reasoning by his son. That probably gave the father many more years instead of allowing him to simply shrivel and die, which happens so often after the loss of a long married spouse.
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This is a lovely story about a son helping his father cope with loss and renew his interest in music. This will help both of them heal from the loss of their wife and mother. This was well done and showed a lot of feeling. 🙂
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Lovely, lovely, lovely …
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What a touching family story. An insightful persuasive son. Well done. Shandra
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beautiful family story, Ruth and love the family upbringing that included music appreciation at an early age.
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The second love, in my mind, can be seen two ways – the love of the music and the love for his son.
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Lovely…. you are absolutely correct!
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When we are drowning and the shore seams impossible to reach, we find strenght in little things that keep us going on. Lovely story.
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a sweet reminder to go on and keep living… lovely tale.
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Just spent a few minutes (maybe an hour) reading your postsâ¦had to catch up. There were several I hadnât readâ¦Love all your writing, Ruth. Can see you riding your bike and hiding under the bridge, meeting Roger, the magic room, the piano lessonsâ¦You certainly have a smooth way with words. Have you started your book yet? Have you determined the setting? Is it suspenseful? Probably is, you wind a tale and keep your readers right with you. We never want your story to end. As I was scrollingâ¦I was sad at each ending (even if it was a happy one!) but tickled that I could read another oneâ¦I would have been happy to read them over againâ¦read the stuffing 2x and it sounded delicious both times! Why didnât you call us to come over for stuffing!!!! We need to have you guys overâ¦Clair has been busy fixing things..I have been taking me and eric to our appointments, and having a week long headache that gave me time off from dishes. At last I am caught up and feeling better. Have 2 quilts to make this monthâ¦one will take more time than the other. Emily is back to work, just holding her job and waiting to get a call for a similar job at Ball State (not the horrible job she left there â this will be in a different dept.) Tulips are up and the grass is not far behind. Have you mowed? So glad winter is behind us. Hope your are both well. I agree that facebook wastes a LOT of time. It wastes even more when you wait for a connection. Is your main computer wi-fi? Mine is and I have to make some calls this week. Sue
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Dear Ruth,
I love it that Little Sam understood that his mom was his father’s first love, not his music. Nicely played.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very touching. Great advice from Little Sam for his dad. Sometime the bereaved need a gentle push to see a way to carry on.
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Lovely story, hope his love of music sees Sam through the sad times
Dee
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Music can do that…
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Loved the story…said a lot in a few words!
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Thanks!
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I think this is so poignant! Losing his first love, he needs to hold on to his music because he loves that so much. Great story! Nan 🙂
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Always hope after loss….
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That’s a good line about not losing your second love and very true. Hopefully the music will help Sam as he moves on. Good one.
janet
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That tugged at my heart strings . 🙂
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