There must be something about accordions...

About 15 years ago a friend brought a friend of hers to our music night and he and I became friends.

At age 42 he had been severely injured while working on deck a ferry.
When he woke up in the hospital he decided that he would spend the rest of his life doing the things he had always wanted to do.

First he learned guitar, then mandolin, then fiddle. He ordered instruments at a great rate from Elderly for a number of years. In fact, so frequently that for awhile I had him order guitar strings for me on a regular basis.

Now, he is into accordion. He started out with a button accordion then decided there was much greater versatility to the piano accordion, sold that and bought the other. He's taking lessons from the best accordion player I have ever heard, Dale Wygant. The man is serious.

I haven't heard him on his newest acquisition yet- but if he practices as incessantly on this instrument as he did the others he will get pretty good.

Dale, his teacher, is multi-faceted. Legally blind he bicycles all over our quiet streets. He has a doctorate in the Russian language. He plays in a hot band, most of whose members also play in the local symphony. Middle Eastern music is probably his greatest love.

I've been in awe of Dale ever since I heard him play for the local International Folk Music Ensemble. He introduced one tune as a Bulgarian piece, with 11 beats to the measure. The next one he introduced as a Hungarian one. This one, he said, had 13 beats to the measure, but no problem, he said. He would just add two more beats.

I gave up.

My friend is in good hands.