This One's For Dad.

Fun with the old player piano

Today I cleaned the player piano with Murphy’s oil soap. When I got done, I played three piano rolls, “Kansas City”, “Yellow Bird” and “Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey”. Those were three of Dad’s favorites. My dad bought the player piano back in the early 1980s.

I was working at 'Hickory Farms' in the mall when my mom called me. She was laughing when she said, “Listen to your dad, he’s playing the piano.” I was confused as I listened to lively piano music coming through the phone. We had a piano for many years. Each of us girls took piano lessons and practiced our recital pieces over and over on it, but I had never heard my dad play it. After a minute Mom explained that Dad had bought an antique player piano and some rolls for it. I’ll never forget my first visit home after that, seeing Dad sitting at his piano, grinning from ear to ear as he played “Beer Barrel Polka” and all the others I mentioned.

We all had so much fun with the piano. Mom and Dad bought a lot of new rolls to play and we would often sing along. Dad died a few years after buying the piano, but playing his favorites has always been one way to bring him back, even for a few moments. It always makes me smile.

When Mom had to sell the big house we had grown up in, and move to a smaller one, she didn’t want to take the piano. She gave it to me. My house is even smaller than Mom’s, but I made room for Dad’s piano.

I hope to move to a bigger home someday. Right now it is just a dream, but every time I look at potential homes, I am looking for a special place where the piano will fit. There are things we keep – for me; the piano is one of those things.