pick up

from left to right: first pick from around 22 years ago, Fender tortoiseshell pick from ???, second Fender tortoiseshell street find, unknown tortoiseshell pick from today

second pick from the left in the image above but taken with my phone. the scanner doesn’t pick up the gold foil. i think the sparkle helps these stand out when i find them on the sidewalk.

i keep finding picks on the ground. i’ve found a couple over the last few weeks. one is similar to a Fender tortoiseshell pick i already had (second from the left) and, come to think of it, i don’t know how i got that one either. i can’t remember buying any guitar picks other than the purple Dunlop one purchased with my very first electric guitar 22 years ago — it’s a thick one, unbreakable almost — and a thumb pick that i just can’t get the hang of… a friend gave me a yellow New Orlean’s Jazz Fest pick in middle school. wish i’d kept a better eye on it, don’t know where it got off to.

i don’t even use picks when i play but i can’t help but pick them up when i see them on the ground. i don’t yet have the confidence to play with that much articulated amplification, i’m still very much in the learning and noodling phase. besides, i like the soft tone of strumming with my fingers.

i found another pick today on my way to see a friend for lunch. it’s the last one on the right — nameless, but with the same tortoiseshell pattern as the Fenders. again, couldn’t just walk away from it. it’s a little thinner and lighter than the others, so maybe it will be the Goldilocks “perfect pick” when i finally reach for one. not there yet, but this growing collection leads me to believe i’ll be ready when i do.