play the accordion

So I met a young lady whose father owns a pawn shop, and she believes he just may have an accordion or two for sale! Depending on what kind of shape they’re in and how much he wants for them, i just may be a little closer to marking this off my list! :)

...I bought an old beat up accordion from a man selling used band instruments off the back of a pick up truck. I’d never played one before but decided I wanted to learn. It was only $80 and he even threw in an old beat up suitcase to lug it around in. I drove my apartment building nuts. It was loud and kinda wheezed a bit, and I never really became proficient enough to create a tone not unlike that of a slightly out of tune perhaps sinister calliope…but still a fun sound! I taught myself to play somewhat, and apart from some obligatory polkas learned a little Duran Duran, Police, and ABBA songs and was working on Bohemian Rhapsody when the instrument finally died.

How I long for the days when I’d stand in the window on the second floor, a plodding version of “Hungry like the Wolf” wafting across the sidewalk, puzzled pedestrians pausing to seek out the source of the tune. Good times…

Now I’m in South Carolina. The ethnic diversity is not like it is in Chicago, and as a result, I was dismayed to learn there is not a very large accordion playing population. I’ve been told by a number of music stores that I’ll have to go out of state to find an instrument, or try ebay (but I really hate to spend the money without seeing it in person). I keep trolling the thrift stores hoping a decent used one will show up eventually…and I know eventually one will because the music is in me and is screaming for release…