When I was 5 years old, my parents and I visited the home of one of my dad’s co-workers. His daughter played the organ. I was completely enamored with the sound and wanted to be able to play. I demanded that of my parents. They obliged by buying my a dinky keyboard at Consumer’s Distributing. The keyboard came with a book and the notes were labeled with numbers. Numbered stickers were placed on the keys. After a brief amount of time, I was dissatisfied. I wanted to play the same way that girl did…on a real organ, reading real notes. So my parents took me to a music school. They looked at me and suggested to my parents that I start lessons on the accordion since I was too short to reach the pedals on the organ. At first, my dad hesitated that I should start any type of lessons…maybe I was too young. But my mom instantly felt gung-ho about it and insisted that they sign me up. I excelled quickly and was invigorated by playing. I’ve never looked back.
I wonder if I would be the musician I am today if my parents hadn’t gone to visit a friend’s home when I was five?
