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<DIV><STRONG><<OFF TOPIC>></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2>The piano business will lead to some of the most =
bizarre finds
sometimes. But then again piano technicians are bizarre
finds.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2>A few weeks ago Alan Meyer and I were walking across =
the UNLV
campus pulling a dolly and skid board after moving an Baldwin
Hamilton into the student union for an event. Nearing the =
music
building we stopped in our tracks when we noticed an old phone booth =
sitting in
a fenced area where the art department does their business. This =
is the
old kind that pretty much disappeared in the 1980s with =
the
bi-fold doors and the light that comes on. Actually thanks to the =
cell
phone nearly all pay phones have vanished now. The top has =
TELEPHONE
written on it which lights up behind the glass on the top. An =
example is
here only it is red instead of blue:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="http://www.payphonesdirect.com/wesel.html">http://www.payphonesdi=
rect.com/wesel.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Half realizing it I said out loud, "hey =
that's cool,
wouldn't it be fun to own that". An art department professor was =
near by
and enthusiastically responded "PLEASE, come and get it!" It seems =
that
some maintenance people abandoned it there and it was in their =
way. For
unknown reasons I said I would take it. He gave me his name and =
told me to
call back a few weeks after school started. Well I did and he said =
to come
over and get it. Last evening Alan and I returned with a piano =
dolly and
proceeded to load it up in my pick-up and away I went with my new found
treasure. This morning I unloaded it behind the house and examined =
it
closer. It is actually in remarkably good shape. The last =
remaining
booths of this type that I have seen, (and it has been quite a =
while), have
the doors missing, broken glass, the light is missing, profanity =
scratched into
it everywhere, etc. This booth has none of that, it just needs a =
good hose
down and scrubbing. It is in pristine condition for what =
could
probably now be classified as an antique.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2>Okay, now the big question... what am I going to do =
with
it? Truthfully I don't quite know but it is kind of cool. I =
jokingly
told Alan that we could use it as the spray booth for our new
shop. His reply was that I should install it in the =
bathroom and
put a shower head in it! (actually kind of a novel idea!) =
I'll
probably end up putting it in my living room after I get it cleaned =
up. I
need to locate an old pay phone to install in it. An older model =
would be
the most nostalgic but I haven't found anything less than upward of
$250.00. maybe there's a fixer upper out there somewhere, there =
must be
tens of thousands of them out there that were retired over the
decades.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2>Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone
call.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Rob Goodale, RPT</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Las Vegas, NV</FONT></DIV>
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