Putting the pain behind him, guitarist Larry Carlton is reassembling his career and his attitude toward life.
The career? That's easy. Play the guitar well, make records and tour the country to back it up.The life? That's a little more difficult. Work on the injured parts of the body, get them back together and help other injured people with a special organization you've founded.
"The muscles that used to play the guitar are back," he said confidently. "My therapist told me it would take about an inch a month for the nerves and muscles in my arm to recover. My arm is about 35 inches long, so that's three years. But things are going well."
Carlton was shot last year in an act of random violence that has stumped police and produced no suspects. But he is back playing.
It has been a trying road back. On April 6, 1988, Carlton was working at his Hollywood Hills, Calif., home. He was standing outside when two teenagers ran toward him. One pulled out a gun, shot at Carlton and the two ran off. No suspects ever were arrested.
The bullet shattered Carlton's left vocal cord, and his left arm was lifeless. Surgeons took arteries from his legs to repair the neck area and he began a long trip back through voice and arm therapy.
Well, not really such a long trip back.
Although he went through physical therapy until last November, Carlton was back performing by Dec. 9. Only a year later, he's on the road with a full summer tour. He knows, of course, that it's going to be some time before he is fully recovered, but he is having no trouble playing. His attitude is smooth, even if his voice is a little raspy.
"The phone is flattering to my voice," he said. "I just have to keep the volume down, and the phone lets me do that."
What has helped that attitude, no doubt, is the fact he is back to his usual tour schedule this summer. He's in the midst of a 28-city tour that lasts into August.
Most of the touring is to promote his new album, "On Solid Ground." But some of it is to boost the group he has formed to help people like himself.
The group - Helping Innocent People - is meant to provide the money some people need when they are victimized by violent crime. It offers financial assistance to victims in California, but is trying to help other groups in a variety of ways, he said.
Carlton also is at work on a new album. He and his wife, Michele, a singer, have just finished a Christmas album that features a range of seasonal hymns on both electric and acoustic guitar.