My dad taught himself to play the mandolin and was quite good at it. He was considered to be one of the best players of string instruments in our town. Even though he was not able to read music, he could play any song that he had heard more than once. When he was younger, he used to play in a local country music band that was fairly small. They would occasionally perform for the community radio station in addition to playing for the local dances in the area. He frequently recounted the story of how he had tried out for and been accepted into the lineup of a band that had Patsy Cline as their lead singer. He claimed to his family that after he got the job, he left town and never returned. Dad was a deeply spiritual individual. He claimed that on the day of his audition there was a lot of drinking and cursing going on, and he did not want to be in that kind of environment.