Great story, Ed, and a great message. I've often wished that pianos could
tell the tales of all who had sat down and played them.
Merry Christmas to everyone on the list.
Gary McCormick
At 08:06 AM 12/19/96 -0500, you wrote:
>
>Greetings all,
>
>Newton asked if we are all too busy, well , probably............
>
> I once heard a technician say that he kept what he found in pianos that
>he tuned. Something about being the reward for taking the time to open the
>thing up and do a quick check, etc... I don't agree with this, and the
>following story is why. It is a Christmas story , and it happened to me some
>years ago.
>
> The call was for a tuning on the "family Steinway" for Christmas. The
>elderly lady was having her two sons and their families for the holidays.
> The piano had not been tuned in the 30 years since her husband died. (1947)
> I tuned it, no more than a 30 cent raise, but enough to wake up the bass
>strings a little, and it sounded good. I then pulled the blocks and took of
>the fallboard. There was a pencil, (of course!), and some small bits of
>paper, but it looked ok. Then I noticed something laying on the action
>stop. Upon retrieval, I saw that it was a St. Christopher medal,("the
>Protective Saint") and there was a date on the back. I put it on the music
>rack, and buttoned the piano back up.
> After giving her the bill, I said, "I found this in the piano", and I
>handed her the medal. She stopped still, then seemed to dissolve, as she
>began a controlled fall into the nearest chair, sobbing.
> Obviously this was something I was not prepared for. I just said I was
>sorry that she had been so saddened, and cried along with her as I waited.
> This is the story she told me.
>
> In December of 1943, she and her husband celebrated Christmas eve with
>their three sons, all of whom were going into their service duty on New
>Years Day. Three good looking officers, one in the Air Force, one Army, one
>Navy. They gave each of their sons a St. Christopher medal that night, and
>as they had done all their life, sang as a family quartet, with Pop playing
>the piano in the living room.
> The next morning there was a medal missing. It was the one given to the
>youngest son, who was the Navy officer. He had always been the wild son, the
>"live for today" kind of guy. They searched the entire house for his
>medal, but never found it. Three weeks later, his ship was torpedoed and sunk
>with all aboard.
> The mystery of his missing medal had always been associated with his
>loss at sea, and after the black bordered telegram arrived that January, Pops
>never played the piano again. His health began to fail, and he passed away
>in grief that summer.
> Aside from the occasional plink by a grandchild, the piano sat unused
>until that cold night in 1977, when the two boys were going to be back. Why
>had she decided to tune the piano this Christmas? I don't have the answer to
>that.
>
> As we go into peoples homes and deal with their instruments, we often
>see the pianos as combinations of downbearing and, key height, hammer
>density and pinning friction. Often this is not how the owner sees their
>instrument, but rather as a very personal part of their life, a record of
>their family history. They associate things with their pianos that we cannot
>possibly hope to ever fully grasp.
> I hope we all can remember, that what is a technical artifact to us can
>be something entirely different to the owner. There are spirits of loved
>ones, and memories of childhoods in these instruments. And that is the real
>value of the music and the things used to make it.
>
> If there is someone that we love, make sure they know it, it will make
>life richer for both. If we feel a hardness in our heart toward some other
>person, may we look for the tremedous benefit that comes from forgiving.
>
> I wish all of this list a happy holiday season, I am certainly happy to
>be here, amongst a group like this.
>
>Regards,
>Ed Foote
>abcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz
>
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