Well I fixed the Martin and got it back to the owner today. The pictures will show how bad it was. There were two cracks that ran from the bottom all the way to the bridge. The top was loose from the end pin all the way to the waste on the cut away side. One cross brace was broken in half and loose all the way past where it crosses the other brace. I glued the top cracks in stages and pulled them tight with the mop string I use to hold the binding on the guitars when I make them. I also had to pull the sides in to align them with the top when I re -glued it. I had to make a clamp to hold the brace in place inside while the glue dried. It's very tedious working on the inside of a guitar. You can't see what you've done until you pull your hand out. Then you have to have a good light and a mirror. It takes a lot of patience. When I finished all the cracks I made a bone saddle for it and strung it up. After adjusting the saddle I got the action just right. I plugged it in only to find that the Fishman system didn't work. I took the strings back off and took the jack out of the bottom. I had to re- solder the connections and that fixed it. So, this turned out to be a nice guitar, for something that was found in the dumpster.
The prayer for today is one that I've spent quite a bit of time with. When I first started doing
passage meditation I started with this prayer and probably spent everyday for several months on it. It feels like a part of me now. It's by Saint Francis of Assisi.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
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