neat things found in grands

[pianolover 88]

Great story! Love to hear more from everybody!

Terry Peterson





----Original Message Follows----
From: JIMRPT@aol.com
Reply-To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: Re: neat things found in grands
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 20:48:09 EDT

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)
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