FADE IN
Act 1
INT. STUDIO - 16:30
PETER checks his black-high-gloss 12-string acoustic guitar.
PETER (V.O.): Having seen it in early March, I couldn't desist my impulse to buy it.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I bought my first 12-string guitar in 2012. I identified myself with the model ie "Villager".
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1968, I used the whole of my private tuition wages I earned to buy the cheapest acoustic guitar in a stationary in Yuen Long.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My favourite TV programme in the late 1960s was the Star Show.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I wondered why bands wouldn't perform live?
Act 2
INT. STUDIO - CONTINUOUS
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yesterday, I read about the story of a 15-year old school boy made and kept a tape recording of the Beatles performing live in his school in 1963.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I listened to some extracts and they're very good. Weeks ago the performance, the Beatles released their first album.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In Spring 1963, I was doing primary 3 and my passion was flying kites.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I didn't know the Beatles had played in Hong Kong in 1964.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Even if I knew, I didn't even have to money to travel from Tin Sum San Tsuen to the urban area, not to mention buying the concert ticket.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On radio, I did hear and love their songs "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I Saw Her Standing There".
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're covered versions of them with Cantonese lyrics, telling different stories. I didn't like them.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yesterday, I also read a story narrating why a Rolling Stones member left the band having played with it for 30 years.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It is said that to perform live, the band had to practise for a month for the songs it had played for 30 years.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When my band - the Meteors - first performed live on stage in my school in 1968, we was fearless, as few could tell how good or bad we were.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was playing lead guitar covering a Credence Clearwater Revival song called "Who'll Stop the Rain?".
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1970, when I became a band member of "The Peters & Nelson Group", I felt the burden to back up participants in a school singing contest.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Before the Christmas show, we rehearsed every night. Still, I felt I wasn't good enough.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On the date of live performance, I even isolated myself for a while, fearing to face the music.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My guitar playing impacted on my studies, and my academic performance, on average, was "D (Poor) +" just months before public exams.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was a loud wake-up call.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To catch up for the lost time, I studied hard.
Act 3
INT. STUDIO - CONTINUOUS
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the good old days, I played hard but was going nowhere as I didn't know music theories.
Looking at the curvy shape of the guitar.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But even decades later, guitar still has a kind of grit and excitement to me.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm still playing the guitar not because I'm very good at it, but because I'm at peace with life.
Peter strums a few chords with his 12-string acoustic guitar.
FADE OUT
THE END
At Peace with Life
Updated: Apr 13, 2023
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