Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hello everyone;
I am glad I was directed to this site. It has been excellent and informative, and is making my decision about which flute to begin with a lot less impulsive.
Years ago, in another lifetime, I bought a shakuhachi from a street vendor at the Tucson art fair. I knew nothing about it. I went to the library, took out a couple tapes, (tapes then...no cd's yet), and listened to the music a shakuhachi could make. Needless to say, it resonated deep within me, and I was hooked. It took me a long time to get that thing to play. I learned on my own, and just followed the music where it took me, no rhyme, reason or plan. That was then.

Several lifetimes later... I still remember that flute. It was left behind when I went into the service, and I began a very erratic period of learning and growing and making lots of mistakes.

So here I am again. I am looking for a flute, and I am narrowing down my search. I have a budget, but am willing to expand it a little. I have met a few people on line who are awesome, many on this forum. What an amazing community. My intention is to use the shakuhaci for personal meditation practice. I have no desire to go beyond that, but have learned in my life that the future is very... fluid... so I stay away from it as much as possible, and try not to get attached.

I have really enjoyed reading the postings on this site. I love the openess and honesty, the real caring, and the obvious love of the shakuhachi shared by the exerienced members. Your willingness to share and invite is very very welcoming. I hope to post more in the future, after I get my flute, and begin my practice.

Peace to you...

Phil