The Day the Music Died

The other day I was walking past my dumpster and noticed an old piano. I went over and hit a few keys. It was in pretty bad shape (musically) but the design of the instrument was beautiful. The wood was ornately carved and the entire piano was probably worth saving. Unfortunately there are two things that make a piano a bad grab at the dumpster in Georgia. First is the daily rain, if it rains on a piano, the piano is probably a goner as mold will easily eat away at its insides. Second is roaches. They will eat anything, including the glue that keeps parts of the piano together. If the piano is outside too long it will be infested (especially sitting next to the dumpster where the roaches already live).

I love old stuff, well most old stuff. Looking at the design and structure of the piano, you can reach back and see history (I know I sound like a broken record when I talk about old things). And honestly, someone probably put a lot of positive energy into that piano when they crafted it (I can't see someone angrily carving piano legs, but I could be wrong). But in a moment of indecision, I hesitated and decided not to try to push that heavy piano back to my place to save it from the rain, the roaches and the dumpster crew.

I guess I thought I had more time, or at least I assumed I wouldn't worry about the poor piano. I know that the trash removal people do not take large objects next to the trash, so I figured I'd have enough time, as long as it didn't rain, to think about it and maybe save it after my sister got back into town (two people are better than one if you're trying to move large objects).

It's been three days without rain, but the piano didn't last 24 hours at the dumpster. The next morning I awoke to a banging noise. When I finally got outside to do my errands, I saw that there were three people at the dumpster smashing the piano to bits with a large hammer. I know it sounds dramatic, but this scene made me sick. Not only am I a staunch preservationist but I also think that musical instruments should be revered, not destroyed. I can't say if this is up there with how I feel about burning books, but it's probably pretty damn close.

So my emotional response to the destruction of the antique piano doesn't stop with this written rant. I've also taken pictures of the remains:

 

 

 So instead of next to the dumpster it is now behind the dumpster in ruins. What a beautiful structure now destroyed. May it rest in peace.