the accordion

Don's father, Art, collected accordions at one time. I don't know how many he had. I never heard him play either. I don't think he ever mastered it to want to play for an audience. Over time he got rid of them. At least I thought he had. Last weekend Don pulled one out of an upstairs bedroom closet. I felt like we'd found buried treasure. I hefted the suitcase downstairs & checked it out. I love all the buttons & shiny surfaces. I even got the straps around my shoulders & got it to play . . . badly of course since I've never played an accordion before. I worried that the bellows would crack from old age & dryness but they didn't. I got it back into its suitcase & closed the lid. I'll let Don hoist it back up the stairs.