The "Parrothead Forever! Story

Preface:  A Happy Mother's Day to all mothers of the world.  Though my story today isn't about my mother, I still think about her, especially on her special day!  Love you Mom!!

It was an ordinary day.  Working on a framing job at  Grebinger Gallery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  I have matted and framed a few thousand pieces of artwork since I began working at Grebinger Gallery in 1999 after I retired from teaching.  The owner of the gallery, Keith, was a former student of mine who gave me a chance to work part-time at something I thought I might enjoy during retirement.  Well, it's been 19 years now and I'm still not tired of "heading to the gallery" to mat and frame whatever may come through the door.  This past week I framed an autographed Philadelphia Eagles Brian Dawkins jersey as well as an autographed Philadelphia Flyers Bernie Parent jersey, but perhaps the job that I enjoyed the most was a limited edition print featuring my favorite musician, James "Jimmy" William Buffett.  

Jimmy Buffett

Hey, anyone with a middle name of William has to be one of my favorites...since that happens to be my middle name.  Keith handed me a work order this morning along with two pieces of mat board, a pre-cut unassembled frame and a rolled limited edition print.  I carefully unrolled the print to find it was a poster from the 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival that featured a very young Jimmy Buffett playing his guitar.  Fell in love with the print as soon as I saw it.  The print measured close to three feet in height and about two feet in width.  The owner of the print wanted a two-color mat in two shades of blue to match the blues in the print.  Placed the measurements into the computer, placed the top blue mat on the cutting table and hit the "Cut" button on the computerized mat-cutter.  

The print along with the foamboard and mat.

Within 15 seconds the top map was cut and shortly after the second mat was also cut.  I fastened the two mats together, cut a piece of Museum glass to place over the job and after mounting the number print to a piece of acid-free foamboard, began to assemble the job.  I used the under-pinner to fasten the corners of the frame together and placed the glass, artwork and mat in the frame.  Within about 45 minutes the entire job was finished.  Was tempted to put it in my car, but the owner of the print probably would miss it.  For those of you who might not have heard of Jimmy Buffett, he is an American musician, songwriter, author, actor and businessman who is best known for his music which tells the stories of an "island escapism" lifestyle.  

The edition number located on the bottom right of the print.

Probably why my wife and I enjoy it so much.  We were introduced to his music by our traveling friends Jere and Just Sue.  Upon a visit to their home in State College, PA in the early 2000s we heard a Jimmy Buffett song on their car radio during a sightseeing drive and were hooked.  We now own most of his albums.  Carol and I also traveled to Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Park in August of 2005 for one of the most exciting nights in our lives when we hear Jimmy and the Coral Reefer Band in concert.  For Christmas this year our friends gave me the latest Jimmy Buffet book, "Jimmy Buffet - A Good Life All The Way".  Memories of all these things flooded back in my mind as I worked on the poster.  I did notice that the edition number was 138/10,000 so there's a good chance I may be able to mat one more print...for myself.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Final result after framing.  The image of Jimmy Buffet looks to be from the 1970s or 1980s and not from 2011 when the concert was held in New Orleans.

Jimmy Buffet album from 1976.  His image resembles his features on the poster I did.

Image from the 2011 concert in New Orleans.