Trust me, having lost way too many beloved peple recently getting old sure as hell beats the alternative. AND with the whole small hands thing - when I started getting bombarded with videos of Ellen, a little girl absoutely tearing up a full-size bass, I thought I can't use that excuse any more! Dammit, at about 8 years old she could bearly reach both ends of the bass and had nailed down the whole of Sir Duke!!!!!! Gaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!