On WORLD PIANO DAY, and why it should have meaning in your life!

An impact on one’s life doesn’t always come from a person. It may come from an inanimate object. I was reminded of that last week. Wednesday, March 29th, was World Piano Day! Why? Duh! Because it was the 88th day of the year! 

I’m sometimes asked about people who may have touched my life. And there are many. But ranking at the top is not a person, but an 88-key Everett upright piano, manufactured in the early 1900s. 

Sometimes referred to as a “pianoforte,” this behemoth featuring 10,000 moving parts and weighing 800 pounds, was somehow shoe-horned into our little 2nd floor apartment above my father’s neighborhood grocery store…a job that would normally require 4 strong men! 

Well, professional movers were not used back in 1941. Instead, you begged friends and relatives, promising a cold long-neck bottle of beer upon project completion. 

My kind mother, who tolerated keyboard banging for a short period, decided that if this were to continue, she wanted genuine notes played. So, at the age of 4, I took my very first piano lesson. 

The thing I want to stress is how my mother’s decision, perhaps for the wrong reasons, shaped my life! I never realized it until this shy, anti-social lad who had few friends, did not play sports and who hated school, made a discovery. Kids liked it when I played! A 7th grade hayride was canceled because of rain, and the party moved to the school auditorium. There, a sing-along session changed my life! I played, kids sang, it was fun! 

From then on, music was a strong part of middle school and high school activities. When I wasn’t playing, I was singing. Piano lessons led to organ lessons. That led to quartets, glee club, and choir. 

Our denomination had three church plants in Muskegon and they were always in need of pianists. Churches wanted high school ensembles for special music. I was playing or singing in some church almost every Sunday. That led to special friendships. And that led to the choice of my life partner! Together we made music for years to come. 

Music was an integral part of the home where we raised our kids. It was a part of our careers, our church life, and our extra-curricular activities. 

That all began in 1941 with the decision to move an Everett upright piano into the Tjapkes household. Wherever you are in life, please keep that in mind. 

Come Easter Sunday, 2023, this 86-year-old organist will be at the console. And loving it! 

Loving God, loving each other

Making music with my friends

Loving God, loving each other

And the story never ends.

Bill and Gloria Gaither

 

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