A visit from the Piano Doctor

Hey everyone! Last week I had a visit from the "Piano Doctor" (i.e. Al Schaeffer, Piano tuner).

It was exciting to get a proper checkup (haven't had one in ages...as far as I can remember..) and learn more about my inner workings.

Check out how fancy I look from the inside! I'm in pretty darn good shape if I do say so myself!

Being on the road to recovery feels pretty good. Learning more about what I need is going to be the key to giving me a new life....

Al was really nice to me. Jocelyn was kind of freaked out when he did the "surgery" to remove my outer piece of wood to reveal the inside stuff..but we both were so confidant in Al's abilities that we knew it would be ok.


Here you can really see how dusty I am...well, what do you expect from somebody who's a few centuries old?? :)


Hey, check out my *TEETH* !

This is the part that really freaked Jocelyn out:)

I wasn't scared, tho. Al knew what to do.

The conclusion to my checkup is that I HAVE POTENTIAL! ...now the only thing left to do is fix me up. The good news is that plans may be in the works to donate me to a nearby school, a fantastic school Jocelyn really likes that just built a brand new Arts Center! Wouldn't that be perfect ? Cross your fingers for me that I might be given a new life at the school, where new generations of musicians might enjoy playing music with me. Oh, I'm so excited!

I'll keep you posted about what the future holds for me.........

Ta ta for now, Charlotte.

Chapter 1: McKindle gets rescued from the fire

Hi people, and welcome! My name is Charlotte M. McKindle, aka the Pink Piano. This blog is a journal about my rescue (and hopefully future restoration!) which all started on April 5, 2006 when my buddy Jocelyn stumbled upon a local ad that read,

OFFER: FREE PINK PIANO
"My friend has a piano that needs to find a new home. It is in good
condition, although someone painted it pink. It is, we're guessing,
around 70 years old. If interested, call Joann at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Would like pick up by the week-end."

Now, as a musician and cultural historian, Jocelyn was curious about the origins of said "Pink Piano", and, because obviously between her book project, music career, board member responsibilities, school plans and other such things she doesnt have enough projects on her plate right now (cough cough, wink wink) she decided to investigate. Yes, I sent out the "Pink Piano vibes" and drew her in right away!! Mu ha ha ha ha.

OK.

So there I was, sitting in a garage, waiting for my buddy to come and check me out, which she did. She looked me over, checked out my ivory keys, my beautiful sound, (damn, I'm still in tune!) my somewhat cracked but mostly pleasant pink (actually orange but work with me here) paint and the deep mohagony wood underneath, and she wondered how in the big-pink-world I could ever be considered

FIREWOOD.

Yep.

You heard me.

Fire. Wood. Uh, Kindling.

Hence my new last name: McKindle.

Jocelyn couldn't bear the thought of my becoming Kindling for someone's fire (which is what was going to happen if someone didnt rescue me) when I could be music to someone's ears, so she set to work on a scheme to move me to her house where I'd be safe.

Move. Piano. Heavy.

Yep. Heavy, as in, not a one-woman-job, unless that woman is Shee-rah and she wasn't available that week.

So Jocelyn networked and networked and networked some more, until FINALLY a couple of guys from a local moving/yardwork/house-building co. agreed to come and take a look at "The Pink Piano."

Jocelyn could just imagine their conversation on the ride over to see me:

"What're we lookin at? a Pink flamingo?"

"Nah, piano"

"Piano? Who paints a piano PINK?"

"Ya got me."

So, the guys arrive at the scene (me sitting in the driveway, having been dragged out of the garage) and they set to work measuring me and lifting one side to see how heavy I am.

Shee-rah aint got nothin on these moving men.

"Can you play it?" Moving guy 1 asks Jocelyn.

"Sure, I can play it" she says confidantly.

(I am so grateful she's a musician!)

Jocelyn walks over to me and starts to play chords on my ivory keys to impress the moving guy #1. (Damn, I'm still in tune!)

"OK. We can do it."

Jocelyn offers to pay them, and they WONT TAKE ANY MONEY! (This is a great part of my story because it shows how magical I am:) It turns out, the moving guys are both volunteers for animal rescue organizations. They know how important it is to find a good home for a stray dog..er...piano, and they know Jocelyn will take good care of me.

Some call it kismet.
Some call it karma.
I call it "The Pink magic"


This is a picture of the moving guys moving me onto the truck!


(I think I look more "pink" from this angle:)

The moving guys and Jocelyn worked together to push me onto the truck, and tied me down for the 2 mile drive over to Jocelyn's house.




Ahhh, with the wind blowing through my ivory keys....













I made it to my new home safe and sound, and was given a new name, "Charlotte M McKindle". Right now, lots of people are busy at work trying to discover where I came from, how I got painted pink, and what lies ahead for me. Whatever the future brings, I'm just glad I wasn't chopped up and thrown in the furnace! I'm glad there's a future for me as a piano and not a bunch of firewood. Until next time...

-Charlotte M "The Pink lady"