After 10 hours of work Tuesday, I studied for a bit, and then took the plunge. I did very well on my final exam, getting 144 out of 150, so the A is a done deal. Yay!
I bought a nice bottle of wine with which to celebrate, but decided to not open it that late. But Wednesday or Thursday I expect to have a bit of that. :)
I saw a story in the news that struck a sad chord. Apparently more and more people are simply choosing to trash their old pianos, rather than donate them or give them away.
This strikes me as oddly bookendish, as if we have arrived at some juncture as a culture. I recall reading that in the mid nineteenth century the trail westward was strewn with discarded pianos as the overworked animals really couldn't bear the extra weight in the wagons. There was a time when having a piano was a symbol of prestige and refinement in a household. I wonder how anguished the decision was to pitch over the centerpiece of the parlor, but it must have dawned on people quite quickly that keeping the piano might mean the death of the draught animals, and that would mean none of their stuff would survive the journey. Now a piano is increasingly something big and clunky that many people don't want to pay the money to move professionally.
There's a lot that goes into moving a piano. In Dallas, one of my residents was a professional pianist with a 12' grand. His was an instrument he bought at auction in a delapidated state for about $25,000. I don't know how much the refurbishment cost, but aferward the piano was valued at about $125,000. He bought a house about 35 miles away, and it cost him about $7000 to have professional movers crate and ship this, but it was a matter of protecting his investment.
Now, crating and moving your average piano won't be $7000, but I don't see why people don't just put ads in their local papers or on Craig's list or something-- free to a good home-- you move it, you can have it.
Seems to me. It just seems a waste and a shame. I'm going to go practice my guitar now.
School's out for summer! School's out for, well, not forever, but I'll settle for a handful of weeks. :)
6 comments:
Great job, Phlegmmy!
One of the things my Dad enjoyed most about moving into the retirement community he lived at, was that they had a baby grand for him to play in the community center.
Dad was quite a good piano player, and seeing as he knew all the "old" songs, he met quite a few of the ladies there!
Congrats! I knew you could do it.
Michael's dad was a piano tuner and refurbisher. Michael would move them with him for extra cash. He still gets calls about them from time to time.
Congrats Lady! :-) And that IS sad about the pianos...
Man, that reminds me of the "red piano project" episode in Glee...when Sue Sylvester totally trashed the pianos in that episode, I cringed as if my soul was being ripped out of my body. I can't stand seeing musical instruments get ruined like that. It's sacrilege, like burning books.
Congrats, Phlegmmy! Not that there was any doubt you could do it. :)
The piano thing is very, very sad. Hell, I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano...why doesn't someone toss a piano MY way, hmmm? ;)
Congratulations.
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