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March 11, 2009
The Ol’88 – Part 2
The year: circa 1973. The situation: I was a pianist without a piano.
To stop playing and just give up the piano was out of the question. Not to mention it was the only thing I was good at.
I could walk to our church and practice there, but that was rather inconvenient. Nevertheless, that’s what I did for a while.
Now, the details of what came next are lost to the fuzzy memories of youth. All I can recall is that somehow the Rotary Club of San Pedro (my hometown in Southern California) got word of my predicament, and they began to search for an instrument for me. (If I recall correctly, I had an uncle or two who were members of the Rotary…)
Did they just go out and get another upright piano? No, they found me a GRAND PIANO. And not a “baby” grand; a full size grand!
The instrument, whose previous owner remains unknown to me to this day, had been left in storage for several years, and was in superb condition, despite being built in 1928.
I can’t remember how I actually received the piano. I have no memory of any special ceremony held by the Rotary Club, but I do remember coming home from school one day to find this amazing instrument in our living room. It was mine, and it was a gift!
I immediately returned to my daily routine of practicing from the time I got home until dinner. I even arranged my school schedule so that I could finish at lunchtime (12:27PM), walk right home, and practice from 1PM until 5PM, every day.
Since the piano was situated right there in the living room, and was a LOUD instrument, naturally I drove my family crazy.
My name became “Leon Getoffthepiano.”
Posted by leonolguin at March 11, 2009 12:28 PM