My piano is an almost-rescued thing. It didn't come from the dump or the curb, it came from a grade school, and it had been sitting untuned and unplayed for years. Many of the key tops were missing. They probably didn't know it, but when that piano was made in 1906, it was the best upright made - an Ivors and Pond.

At one point a janitor had been told to refinish it. He had taken a quart of shellac or something and simply heaved it on. Drips ran down it everywhere. I refinished it.

A friend of mine is a tuner, and she set up a deal where if I paid the $90 for moving, I could have the piano. I had my friend do some work on it, and I have been playing it ever since. It is 107 years old now. The high notes are a little harsh, but delicate playing helps with that. The low notes are so rich and deep and powerful they are to DIE for.