THE RECITAL

When I was about 10 years, I started taking piano lessons from  a Ms. Eleanor Webb. I found out that she was an old friend of my dad's when he lived in Atlanta. Her husband had died, so she moved to Rome. My dad bought me a piano for the lessons. He had a tough time getting the thing home because we lived on a hill. The lady that he bought it from lived way out on the Alabama highway so when they got it loaded, they started back to Rome. Just as they went across Broad St. and started up 5th Avenue, the piano shifted and almost rolled off the truck. It didn't do much damage but I think my dad hurt his back when this happened because after it was unloaded, he had to lay down with a heating pad on his back. I don't think it was really a heating pad, I think it was just some towels warmed in the oven to lay over his back. Anyway the piano sat in the dining room on the right just as you entered the door. These were hugh sliding double doors. I never could make them close. Well I loved the piano and I dearly loved Ms. Eleanor because she came to the house for the lessons. I learned alot from her. One day, my uncle Kerwin came up from Florida and was re-acquainted with Ms. Eleanor. It was love at first sight. They married and went back to Florida and I lost my piano teacher. It just so happened that my dad had heard about another teacher who lived on 8th Avenue near the Catholic school of St. Mary's. I had to go to her house for the lessons and I didn't like it. But she had a beautiful home with lots of antiques and a baby grand piano. I had never seen a piano like it. It sounded so much better than mine. It was hard for me to practice after playing on her piano. But I worked hard because she told me that I had improved enough that I could play a more grown-up song. I couldn't wait. But low and behold, she picked a song that I had never heard of. "The Theme From Liebestraume" by Franz Liszt. It means "Dreams of Love" in German. Well I didn't speak German and after World War II, I sure didn't want any song to do with them. But she insisted, saying it was a beautiful song and forget it was German. Okay, so I practiced and practiced until I could almost play the piece by heart. Mother bought me a gorgeous dress of mint green and I got new shoes and gloves. I just couldn't see me playing with gloves on so I left them at home. But my dress was so sheer that you could see right through it. It had an underskirt that was satine the same color. The top looked like it had embroidered flowers all  over it and they were a darker color of green. I was scared and nervous, afraid to go in front of all those people.
My teacher, Miss Addie Lou Lay, just told me to look at the ceiling and at the piano and I would do fine. When it came my turn, I walked very carefully up to the piano and sat down. I didn't dare try to move the bench 'cause I was afraid I would turn it over. I raised my hands in the beginning position and started to play. Everything went fine and when I finished, the audience started to clap and I got up and took a small bow and walked into the wings behind the curtain. It was a great experience and I got flowers. It was better than going to the circus. I continued to take lessons for another year and then my interests were on dancing so I dropped piano and dad sold the piano. But you know, when I was about 48 years old, I started back again and found out that you never forget the notes. But you do have to brush up. And I mean alot. I think I practice alot more when I was older and I learned alot of new things. My teacher, Mrs. Burns, was the pianist at the church and I wanted to learn gospel music. So that is what she taught me. And I got to be pretty good. Enough that I could play for myself and sing. That is how I got involved with the Sounds of Praise but that is in a previous story.