Manifest Your Symphony

Talk about manifesting: I'd been thinking of getting a stringed instrument for over a year now, something I wouldn't have to have electricity to play, something low-toned and soothing, not difficult to play and improvise on... and I kept coming back to the cello. Except those are pretty damn large... not to mention expensive. I'd looked into it haphazardly now and again, but last week decided I'd scrape up what I could and just go for it...

About that time, I went to close one of my bank accounts, since WAMU is becoming the demon-child of CHASE - and there was an additional $250 showing up on the cashier's check they sent me... some of you may have noticed my poll about that very real question... then I remembered about the VA stimulus package, where Obama, that generous man, decided to give a chunk of money to all us disabled vets... but funny that they sent it to an old account, not the one I get my VA bennies thru.

anyway, I found ONE craigs-listing in Tucson for a cello, happened to be the half-size I wanted, and in better shape than any of the phoenix ones, and for $225. When I emailed the guy to tell him I was visiting Tucson on Tuesday morning, for (how appropriate) a VA appointment, and could I look at it, he said, wouldn't ya know it, I'm gonna be in Phoenix Monday thru Thursday - otherwise I'd be happy to do it. I say back, great! since I have to go thru Phoenix and stay there overnight to get to Tucson... bring her with you! and he said yes.

Now, you know I've never touched a cello (well maybe you didn't, so I'm sayin it now) and I have NO idea what to expect, or look for. maybe I'll just ask the guy to play it for me... except I think in the ad he mentioned it belonged to his son and he moved up to a full cello, meaning he wouldn't know how to play it either. But I called him anyway. (I'll skip the long shitbag of a story where I had taken my CHASE cashier's check from closing my WAMU account, where I spent 45 MINS in a CHASE bank, cuz they couldn't verify that it was legitimate, and therefore couldn't cash this here CHASE check... and how I finally got it done in about .7 seconds at the WAMU bank... and how much I'm going to miss WAMU).

So J and I were going to meet Richard just before heading out of Phoenix back to the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and I was just riding the serendipity that had already presented itself, not knowing if I should just call it off and save the money, or take the chance of buying a stringed contribution to the burn barrel... so I just decided to keep on keepin' on. We met Richard - he definitely was NOT a Dick as most Richards in my experience have been - and it was a lovely time in a lovely house, with a very lovely man. He was moving from Phoenix to be closer to his daughter, since his wife died a short time ago he had no ties to stay in Tucson. And was selling his son's cello, his son who lives with his own wife in LA and who is in a symphony there, but moving up to Portland soon... there was no end to the connections in this short hour spent with this man.

Not even counting that he was distinguished, his elegant speech betraying his flip-flops and jeans exterior... he spoke of music being just as necessary to proper education as was math and science, and raised his children such... and as we got to the actual reason I was there, he brought out the cello saying he only knows how to tune it, and proceeded to expertly bring these four wonderfully rich tones alive from horsehair and steel. The sound was amazing, I fell instantly in love with it. He proceeded to give a little lesson in holding the bow, dragging it thusly to get the best sound, and thusly to play two strings at once... and to loosen the hair when not playing, do this, remember that...

We concluded the transaction very gracefully, and exited this little urban desert oasis. I was FLYING, sure that the cello was singing to me all the way home from behind my seat, feeling so much richer for having met Richard.