"East Side, West Side"

I had read about them, the 88 pop-up pianos placed in the five boroughs of New York City by Sing for Hope. I thought it would be a perfect memorial for my mother. I found two in Central Park. It was a misty, almost rainy, day so the pianos were covered but anyone was allowed to play them briefly as long as the tarp was replaced. There were two college-age students ahead of me. The woman was filming the man with her Blackberry. He played one note several times as though he were not a piano player at all which gave her the giggles. Then he sat down at the make shift bench and started the Schubert Impromptu #4. Unbelievable! Then he said I could have a turn. I said, "I'm not following a Schubert Impromptu!" He was amazed I knew what it was. She continued filming us. I sat down and played the Mexican Birthday song, "Las Mananitas." They weren't familiar with it and I said I played it in honor of my birthday. They (as well as two park workers) screeched, "Happy Birthday!!!!!" I left feeling very good about my gig in the Big Apple. My mother would have loved it. She had such dreams for my concert career mostly based on the fact that during high school I played every Saturday night at some retirement hotel and the oldsters applauded generously. However, I played the same three pieces and my girlfriends played a variety of much harder ones. However, they were low on charm and I had big teeth. My smile was always at the ready. I won a talent contest as a result and my mother exclaimed, "You see? You see?" I did see. I saw what she didn't. I was not cut out for Julliard. In the decades following, she was gratified that I always played somewhere--for the junior high chorus, a handbell choir, or a church. She would be over the moon that I can now say I played in the city of her dreams. After watching The Lives of Others, I was impressed that one of the stars, Sebastian Koch, was enthralled with a piece Gabriel Yared wrote for the score; Sebastian, who was not a piano player and wasn't interested in any other piano endeavor, spent hours practicing this piece. I thought watching him in the movie that he was a gifted pianist! He is sort of like me in the sense that he has this one and I had my three. I encourage anyone to learn whatever is a favorite and then come up to the Big Apple next year. This year there were 28 more pianos than there were last year so who can say how many more there will be waiting for you!

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...may you also have the blessings of a little dream come true...