VICENTE “Ben” Sablan Basa, 71, cried while he played the guitar and sang his favorite Elvis Presley song, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” at the Manamko’ Center on Monday.
Vicente “Ben” Sablan Basa holds his new Fender acoustic guitar near his tent in Chalan Kanoa.
He said he missed his Fender acoustic guitar which was one of the items stolen when the center was burglarized in June.
Lawmakers and other members of the community recently donated brand new items to replace the stolen items, including Basa’s guitar.
In an interview on Tuesday, Basa, a former police officer, said his brand-new guitar is beautiful, but “it doesn’t feel the same, and it will never bring me the same happiness.”
The stolen Fender acoustic guitar was a gift to him by his daughter, Madeleine, when she visited him a long time ago. Madeleine lives in Seattle, Washington.
“I did not even ask my daughter how much the guitar was when she gave it to me. Anything from my children is very valuable to me, no matter what it is,” said Basa who is still staying in a tent provided to him by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after his house in Chalan Kanoa was destroyed by Super Typhoon Yutu in Oct. 2018.
Basa said he, his fellow manamko’ and Office of Aging Director Walter Manglona are very grateful from the bottom of their hearts to the good people who donated the replacements of the items stolen from Manamko’ Center.
His new Fender guitar is very similar to his old guitar, he said, but “I really cannot feel the same happiness when I play it.”
He added, “You know, it’s not about the quality or the value of the guitar itself — it’s about a child who made her dad very happy. That was stolen from me.”
Basa said he is ready to forgive the person who stole his old guitar. “I am not even interested to know who you are. But please find a way to return what you stole from me. I just want my guitar back.”
