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33 the shirt —The Stratocaster (a “Strat”) is an electric guitar invented by Leo Fender. It is widely used by rock, blues, and country musicians. In Nashville, Tennessee, Joe Millar bought me a secondhand black rayon shirt with the Fender logo and a Strat neck figured in orange and gold across its front— slip your arms through the sleeves, you’d think you were a night-blooming electric flower. Oh, I know Robert Bly has a hand-loomed Mexican poncho and plays a harmonium. And I know Gerald Stern has an antique Burberry coat and sings like a parlor canary. But imagine a warm June night in Fresno, California, a soft wind in the trees: I’m onstage with my 5-string, wearing the black Fender shirt. At this hour it’s wrinkled and stained with sweat, but the string band beside me snaps and pops like a live power line and the crowd is a dark field of moving water. It’s my turn; I step into the circle of light from the overhead spot and the light comes off my banjo as if I’m cradling the full moon in my arms. And in this flying moment of time, O friends, am I not beautiful! ...

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