<div dir="ltr"><div>Ron et All,</div> <div> </div> <div>I have enjoyed your prose and individual stories and feel moved to add mine.</div> <div> </div> <div>I lived in a small town in Minnesota across the river from my present small town in Wisconsin. When I lived in LaCrescent, MN I was the only tech in town and got to know the addresses of the "built-in" pianos, the ones that were put in the unfinished basements then had the basements finished around them making it impossible to remove them in one piece.</div> <div>Being a small town, I more than once happened upon a pickup driving down the street with a monstrous upright in the back, untethered, with a child positioned there, apparantly to restrain it should it decide to leap to it's doom. I would pull alongside of these fools and wave them to a stop. I would then explain the true weight of the piano, it's true worth versus the value of their child's life and limb, then give them my straps to tie it down, for a nominal deposit to assure their return and be on my way. Occasionaly a mother called to thank me. I always got my straps back.</div> <div> </div> <div>I recall merging onto an interstate on my way home one summer day and seeing a pickup whizz by with an upright piano belted to the side gates but nothing over the top and I thought I saw the top lift then slam down, then it was gone over the hill. When I reached the top of the hill there was the piano lid lying in the middle of the highway.</div> <div> </div> <div>I arrived at the farm to tune the piano about noon on a pleasant summer day, I was shown to the old upright and after checking it over, I explained to the customer that it was over a 1/2 tone flat and would require a pitch raise and some extra tuning to keep it in tune. She said that was fine they had expected that so I started into it. I had finished my first time through and had most of the piano at or above pitch when the husband came in and asked how it "was going". I told him pretty well it seemed to be in OK condition for an old piano.</div> <div>He said "good we were afraid the fall might have hurt it". I asked what fall and he explained that when they were moving it from the next farm as they were coming up the hill it had rolled out of the truck and flipped over on it's top. Right about then it started to pour down rain for about 20 minutes, when it stopped they went out and rolled it over back into the truck. Based on what I was saying he guessed it hadn't hurt it any, I said I guess not wearing my best poker face!</div> <div><grin> <br clear="all"></div> <div>Mike<br>-- <br>I feel sorry for the person who can't get genuinely excited about his work. Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything worthwhile. <br>Walter Chrysler <br><br><br><br> Michael Magness<br>Magness Piano Service<br>608-786-4404<br><a href="http://www.IFixPianos.com">www.IFixPianos.com</a><br>email <a href="mailto:mike@ifixpianos.com">mike@ifixpianos.com</a><br></div></div>