Daddy Dearest -- Part One

This is my father, Nathan Jolina-Plumb, when he was a young boy. Everyone in Sunset Valley knows who he is. He's a musician and composer who's written pretty much every major hit song there is in Simland. He was born with tunes in his head.

Aunt Margaret said that when daddy was really little, his babysitter caught him playing some top 40 hit on his toy xylophone. Had perfect pitch, too. And when she told my grandma, she didn't believe her. Why would she, really? Who would believe a toddler is playing real songs?

Dad got his musical genes from grandma, who played casually and to relax after her high-stress job at the hospital. He said grandma was so good at it that she could have made a career of it herself, and that after school, when he'd heard her playing, he would trail her around just to hear the tunes coming from her guitar.

Seriously, he really is very, very gifted musically, and eventually grandma figured it out. Aunt Margaret says he taught himself how to read sheet music just before he started school, and wrote his first song just after that. She also says he used to close his eyes when they would watch TV, because he'd be listening to the music. As soon as he was able, he took guitar lessons and started playing day and night.

He really, really does love music. Even now, I'll wander downstairs and catch him with his guitar, just immersing himself in the tunes. Most of the people who hear his songs and catch his concerts really have no clue how musical he really is. He hums and beats his legs all the time. He thinks in musical notes and when he signs his name, he'll underline it with a musical flourish called a crotchet. The "I" in "Jolina" he'll dot with a little minim, a musical note that looks like a small 'o'.

I believe my dad loves music more than he loves people, honestly. Unlike grandma, who loved giving parties and such, dad doesn't seem to be the partying type, despite his reputation around town. Temperamentally speaking, dad is more like grandpa and Aunt Margaret. Few would believe it, given his show-stopping concerts and interesting sense of style, but dad is actually an introvert. He's actually really shy, when you get down to it, except when the conversation turns to music. Then he comes to life.