Why people will vandalize pianos, or anything else for that matter, is beyond me, but they will do it. Years ago at a nearby public school, a boy got mad at one of the teachers, lifted the top of an upright piaino, and wiped out the hammers - shanks - butts - flanges in the bass section - just the bass. His father was a county commissioner - called me up - told me to fix it and send him the bill. I did, and he paid me. I don't think that boy ever did anything like that again. In another case, some boys broke into a church, and poured grape juice into the 6-ft grand piano. It was a Baptist church, and the juice was what the church used for communion. In another case, boys broke into another church and squirted a fire extinguished into a 7-ft grand. Fortunately, in each of the above cases, they knew, or found out, who did it. But there was a funny one too: About fifty years ago there was a big bronze statue of a WWII soldier on the front lawn of the old Knoxville Central High School. It was a real landmark. One night, some vandals poured paint all over it. The cops and/or school authorities caught the ones who did it. Their punishment? Clean it up, and polish the statue back like it was before. It was quite a job, but they did it. Jim Ellis
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC