TO GEDDY LEE: AN APOLOGY (sort of)
Dear Geddy,
It’s uncomfortable to admit, but in the past I have said some unkind things about you and Rush. While I have never denigrated your indisputable ability on the bass, I have described your voice as that of an Irish Banshee, or the modern-day equivalent of Medusa. That Rush is the perfect soundtrack for Dungeons & Dragons, rendering it a fantastic form of birth control. For all those things, I am sincerely sorry.*
Because today, when I stopped into Middle-C Music, my local music store, to buy a new guitar strap and some picks, invoking your name gave me extra credibility with the dudes in the shop. Asking to try the Warwick 5-string Streamer and Fender Jazz bass had gotten me off to a good start. But as we were discussing different types of music and who played what kind of bass, the bass-playing employee’s face lit up when I mentioned that you, in fact, play a Fender Jazz. He gave me his card, wrote down some music recommendations and said to please let him know if there was anything I thought the shop needed or that I would like to see.
Women don’t always have this kind of experience in music stores. Being able to reference bassists and the instruments they play elevated my shopping experience to a level I didn’t think was possible. I have to give you proper credit for that. And I loved playing that Fender Jazz. It felt so natural in my hands. I suspect that sometime in the next year, you and I might have something in common: the type of bass we play.
Best,
Kristine
*None of those things are wrong; I’m just sorry that they are true. 
OK I hope it’s obvious that my note is a bit tongue-in-cheek. The guys in this shop would have been friendly and helpful regardless, but it was great to speak in person to another bass player, and he was happy to share info and experiences. Plus he plugged the basses into a monster Warwick amp - thinkin’ they don’t get too many bass players in the shop. 