mike

Last Call: With Gratitude
John Bohlinger hanging out with his guitar teacher, Mike Hoover. Photo by Kaye Caughey Hoover

I met my guitar teacher, Mike Hoover, when I was in 8th grade. Forty years later, I’m still learning from him.

“For us to live any other way was nuts." —Ray Liotta as Henry Hill in Goodfellas

Never imagined I'd be here, but currently I'm homeschooling my 4-year-old daughter. Teaching has taught me that beneath my Zen Hippie Cowboy façade lies a rigid nerd, weirdly unforgiving and bad at concealing my frustration at both myself and the student. I'm the kind of uptight teacher I would've dreaded as a kid. My incompetence makes me appreciate the good teachers I've had in my life.

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