I am Thankful... (Part 2)

As I was quickly scanning through news headlines this afternoon, a story from CNN.com caught my eye:

Mystery piano in woods perplexes police

Apparently the "mystery piano", pictured above, was found in the woods on Cape Cod. Police are wondering if it was a prank or a theft. (The entire news story can be found here: Mystery Piano Story from CNN.com)

"Authorities in Harwich, Massachusetts, are probing the mysterious appearance of a piano, in good working condition, in the middle of the woods.

Discovered by a woman who was walking a trail, the Baldwin Acrosonic piano, model number 987, is intact -- and, apparently, in tune.

Sgt. Adam Hutton of the Harwich Police Department said information has been broadcast to all the other police departments in the Cape Cod area in hopes of drumming up a clue, however minor it may be.

But so far, the investigation is flat."

Personally, I'm not sure this story is really worthy of making CNN news, and I sincerely hope the police departments won't spend too much time "investigating" the matter.

It's just not that shocking to me.

(Although I have to admit that I got a kick out of the musical puns that were peppered throughout the article: drumming, minor and flat. I suppose those are the things only a musician would pick up on, but I got a little giggle from it. I know... pretty geeky.)

Anyhow, my theory behind this story is that someone was probably moving out of their home, and simply couldn't find a buyer (or a taker!) for their tiny Spinet piano. In desperation, they dumped it in the woods just to be rid of it.

To me, this news story is the equivalent of someone dumping an unwanted appliance in the woods. By the time you pay for a moving truck and a dump sticker, it can become costly and I suppose a bit easier to comprehend why someone would choose to do this. But still, it's just plain irresponsible, and hardly what you would call a prank.

If you have ever scanned the classified ads or Craigslist, you will see dozens of pianos for free.

As a matter of fact, I was the recipient of a "free" piano, completely by accident.

At about this time last year, I received a phone call from a woman offering to donate her baby grand piano to my piano studio. Apparently, the owners didn't know how to play, but had purchased the piano with the hope that their future children would learn.

Unfortunately, they were unable to have children and decided to get rid of the piano and gain extra space in their home.

I quickly realized why it is so difficult to unload an unwanted piano! The cost of moving the "free" piano a whopping three miles to my house actually made me think twice about accepting the gift! In the end, we did end up paying the owners for the piano, because we just couldn't in good conscience accept a donation of this magnitude.

It is a very nice piano, and I think it's fair to say that I wouldn't have been able to purchase such a high quality piano at this time in my life if it were not for this unexpected stroke of good luck.

To this day, I think of the previous owners every time I drive past their house. I am grateful for their generosity and hope they feel proud of their good deed.

Amanda and Eva make music on this piano daily, and with any luck, it is the piano they will one day learn on - if their Mama has anything to say about it!

December 2007: Taken before a Christmas performance

On a side note, I must also thank my husband, who took it upon himself to not only purchase the proper tools but also learn how to tune the piano. Besides being very convenient, his knowledge is saving us upwards of $150/year in tuning costs!

And so, in that roundabout way, I am thankful for my baby grand piano... and my multi-talented husband.

But I will save that for a future post.