Guitar Hero

We shipped Mac's Father's guitar back to his nephews Ben and Zac today. It's a long story.
Mac's Father Rafael had a dance band in the 1940's and 50's. He played Flamenco music on his acoustic guitar and dance music on the other. The other being a 1949 Gibson Electric/Acoustic, now deemed a classic.
All of Mac's brothers were taught an instrument as they were growing up: Jr. played drums, Ronnie trumpet, George bass guitar. Mac was given lessons on this guitar when he was way too young or big enough to play it. So he never really learned how to play it. When Mac's Dad died his brother George took the acoustic guitar and Mac took the Gibson.
About 8 years ago while Mac was talking to his brother Ron (who lived in Utah) his brother mentioned that his boys, Ben and Zac, liked to play anything with strings. Well, Ron had a watercolor that their Dad had painted of a cowboy (their Father was an artist as well as a musician-that's a painting Mac painted of his Dad) and the two of them decided to trade. So we shipped the guitar off to Utah.
Flash forward to a couple of years ago (after we had moved to Georgia) and I decided that instead of Mac saying he wished he'd learned to play guitar that I would get him one for our Anniversary.
So he has taught himself to play guitar, and about a year ago I wrote to my sister-in-law Jean (Ron's wife) and asked her a favor. I asked if Mac could borrow the guitar back for a couple of years because it would absolutely thrill him to now be able to play his Dad's guitar. She and the boys were kind enough to agree and we got the guitar about a year ago. It was still too big for him, but he played it, we taped him playing it and got a picture of it.
Now it was time to send it back to its owners, so we mailed it today, insured for about $5,000, though on the Net I saw it valued at $7,500 - $9,000. It has truly become a family heirloom in more ways than one.