Do you have any dreams you’ve long given up on? Jeff Hawley reminds us to keep those dreams alive.
The immortal words spoken to Sam Dooley have always been a part of my DNA. Play it again Sam.
And, after a 50 year layoff, I chose to play it again.
The piano that is.
A few years ago, I purchased an electronic keyboard; soon after it arrived at my doorstep, I began taking lessons.
Things went well with my playing. Throughout my 2 years of pounding away, I memorized some 8 or 9 songs. My wife agrees it is time to graduate and “Craigslist” the electronic keyboard and search for a real piano; one without an on/off switch.
For the last 2 months, I was on a mission to find the perfect baby grand. 6 visits, 6 stories behind the original piano purchase, and nights of tossing and turning waiting for the lightning bolt to hit: “Jeff, look no further, I am your forever piano.”
Halfway through my journey, I visited one home. I love their piano. I began playing it. A married couple, my age, selling it, downsizing, moving back East to be near children. They bought the piano 10 years ago. The owner’s wife took a few lessons and never played it again.
When I began playing “Fly Me to The Moon,” she began crying. Was my playing that bad?
No. She felt a deep pain. Dreams of a passion no longer on the horizon; a missed opportunity in her estimation.
In a few minutes, her husband finished his call early and came down to join us. He was delighted with the music filling their entire house, something he had not experienced in a while.
In the end, I did not buy their piano.
But I did learn one thing from my visit that day, a lesson in the form of some stranger’s tears, do not let these years slip by. Follow the music. Keep playing.
With a Perspective, I’m Jeff Hawley.
Jeff Hawley is retired and a former Berkeley resident.