neat things found in grands

[JIMRPT@aol.com]

Terry.... Yeah I have found some strange things in pianos. Some were good, 
some very good  and one verrrry bittersweet for the owner.

 I was asked to evaluate an old Mathushek grand for rebuilding. The piano had 
belonged to the owners mother and now she wanted to pass it on to her 
daughter..but in fine condition.  I went to the house and after talking with the 
couple a few minutes, I proceeded to tear down the piano for examination.....upon 
pulling out the action I found, stuck in the corner of the bass section, a 
Zippo gigarette lighter. It was really unusual in that it had a Rebel flag on one 
side and a windup key on the other. When you wound the key and opened the 
lighter it played "Dixie"!!
 I called the lady into the room thinking she might be interested in the 
lighter. I told her what I had found and handed it to her...she sat right down on 
the floor and started crying her eyes out..bawling like a baby. Her husband 
came in and of course wondered what I had done?? :-(   I told him that I had 
just handed her the lighter and she started crying.  The husband coaxed her off 
the floor and into the kitchen and I, much chagrined as you might imagine, 
continued with my evaluation.

 After a period of time the husband came back into the living room and asked 
me to come into the kitchen when I was finished for a cup of coffee and to 
present my findings......I did so.  The Lady then told me why the lighter upset 
her so. It seems that she had three brothers all of whom joined the Army during 
WWII and who were all shipped overseas at the same time. The night prior to 
their departure the family had a last get-together and the ladies mother and 
father gave each of the boys a Zippo ligther that had the flag and played 
"Dixie".  As the brothers were leaving to go to the train station one of the 
brothers, the youngest, could not find his lighter and left without it.....the 
lighter was nowhere to be found.... try as the mom and dad might it was just 
goneeeeee......... The lighter was never seen again until I pulled it out of the 
action that afternoon..some 50 years later.  The two brothers who had kept their 
lighters came home from the war sound and hearty...the brother who had lost his 
lighter was killed on D day...................
Jim Bryant (FL)