Posted on 09/26/2022 1:15:21 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Images of a surprise ukulele lesson on a recent Southwest Airlines flight from California to Hawaii appeared online last week and promptly received a roasting from keyboard comedians.
The notion of an unsolicited music lesson while seated on a six-hour flight was too much for many naysayers, who criticized the cheerful promotion — a crossover between the airline and Guitar Center, which provided the instructors and ukuleles — as a gimmick worse than death.
What the knee-jerk reactors missed was that this experience, while a commercial for two mega corporations, was a harmonious, unique memory for a full flight of passengers inbound for Hawaii.
“For anyone who wasn’t there, they can make it out to be as great or awful in their head. But if you were there in person, it was nothing but smiles,” said Ryan Miyashiro, a Guitar Center teacher who was one of the three instructors on the flight. “The lesson itself was a quick 20 minutes. It happened in the middle of the flight, and it was a nice break from what you’d normally be accustomed to doing on a long flight.
Miyashiro has worked at the Guitar Center in Pearl City, on his home island of Oahu, for the past year and a half. He celebrates the instrument’s rich history and its ties to Hawaii’s culture. He said he began learning to play years ago when he lived in the Bay Area but would feel homesick.
He was a top candidate from Guitar Center’s leadership to lead this in-flight lesson, both for his ability to teach large classes and for his passion for sharing music with new learners.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Notice they both appear to be Asian.
About twenty years ago when I moved to Honolulu, it was not uncommon to see Asian women wearing face diapers. Chinese virus was still Fauci’s dream in a lab.
Dunno why, maybe a carryover from the polluted air where they came from?
In my neighborhood, it’s mostly the Asians and some Hispanics that are still wearing them.
In other words, it was 20 minutes too long.
Call me contrarian but I think it’s pretty cool.
I’m flying Southwest tomorrow. I’d enjoy something cool like that.
And the souvenir uke will last longer than the lei...
LOLs!
It could have been worse.
How about a plane full of banjos at 35,000 feet?
“Dueling Banjos?” (from the movie “Deliverance”).
That would be "Bomba! Mamma mia! Bomba!
I had a relative of size. They charged extra for cremation over 350 lbs.
Speaking of it, people were wondering why the Queen's coffin looked so heavy, since she was shrunken tiny, and had asked for a plain oak coffin. Turns out it was lead-lined, and weighed 500 lbs.
Izzy , R.I.P.
My hero.
He’s the one who inspired me to learn the ukulele.
It’s hard to hold one with out smiling.
If you don’t like ukulele music, Hawaii is not where you want to go.
Yes, it sounds like it was a lot of fun, and a free lesson. I would be happy to get there in one piece, or not to arrive hanging outside from the fuselage.
It’s been suggested that the pallbearers should receive honors for the wonderful job they did. I agree.
My grandfather was a professional musician (classical), and the ukulele was the first instrument he gave me.
I’m addicted to them,,, I’ve got 6 so far,,,1 clear blue plastic kayaking soprano uke, 3 mahogany concert ulkes and 1 reaaal nice Epiphone les Paul style cheryburst tenor electric acoustic.
Oh , and a rogue baritone uke with special strings that let me use regular gcea tuning so my chord shapes remain the same.
A recent Very Good Evening: Showing the 1950s Canadian “Zero Hour” and “Airplane!” back to back to a couple of young people who had never heard of either.
he is the dark haired guy with the mustache.
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