![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Accordion.jpg\" "\\"Accordion\\"")
As a child, were you, too, expected to learn a musical instrument? For many of us growing up in the mid-west that instrument was the accordion and at Milwaukee\u2019s Patti Brothers Music Store it was king.<\/p>\nAs a child, were you, too, expected to learn a musical instrument? For many of us growing up in the mid-west that instrument was the accordion and at Milwaukee\u2019s Patti Brothers Music Store it was king.<\/p>\n
My parents signed me up for twelve weeks and rented a small twelve-bass beginner\u2019s model. It morphed my seven-year-old body into an animated floating musical box with head and feet. I graduated to larger versions with heavier cases and until I was ten, weighed more than I did. Why, for Pete\u2019s sake, didn\u2019t someone notice wheels on \u00a0luggage and screw some to those monsters?<\/p>\n
After six months my relatives were treated to my accomplishments. \u201cIsn\u2019t she cute!\u201d Grandma effused. \u201cCan she play anything else besides \u201cJingle Bells?\u201d<\/p>\n
My parents, instilled with German stick-to-it-stubbornness, weren\u2019t about to lose their investment in a budding musician even though I hated practicing and had little talent. When I reached seventeen they realized I would never compete with Frankie Yankovic and my accordion lessons were over.<\/p>\n
My long-suffering teacher did not protest the end to our dubious relationship. I\u2019m certain Patti Brothers caught on years earlier I wasn\u2019t their prize student. But, a decade of weekly income overruled suggesting that to my parents and they were astute enough to conceal me in the band\u2019s rear at public events.<\/p>\n
The accordion was relegated to the basement.<\/p>\n
I married, raised five children and when we moved, my accordion traveled along. Once a year or so, I\u2019d lift it from its red-velvet-lined case and pound out \u201cLady of Spain\u201d \u2013 just to show off. Strange how my children, one-by-one, slipped away in the middle of a piece, but I did impress them by winning first place in our church\u2019s No Talent Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n I considered bringing my accordion to my second-grade class, but several base buttons, keys and bellows appeared to have lost a fight with Crazy Glue. Instead, I took up the guitar, a simpler, lighter, quieter instrument and when I plucked an incorrect string, my students didn\u2019t flinch.<\/p>\n While packing for FloridaI unearthed my accordion and reflected, \u00a0I\u2019m retired now. I\u2019ll have time to play again.<\/em><\/p>\n Upon opening the case, dust motes whooshed out. The powdery bellows had reduced the key-board and base buttons to mere decorations \u2013 lifeless.<\/p>\n Without any remorse or formal funeral, the deceased\u2019s final resting place became the dumpster.<\/p>\n Perhaps, I didn\u2019t love my accordion enough.<\/p>\n What\u2019s your story?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a child, were you, too, expected to learn a musical instrument? For many of us growing up in the mid-west that instrument was the accordion and at Milwaukee\u2019s Patti… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22879\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}