A Happy Birthday Indeed

If you keep up, you know all about Mrs. X and the trouble with selling the house. We wrote a document to cancel all our dealings with them. Today, we got that document back signed by Mr. and Mrs. X, along with an entirely new offer on the house from someone else. It was actually in the same email as the cancellation: two documents. Out with the old, in with the new.

(I just want you all to know that I am very thankful for all that I have, and while my mother is of one mind, I myself would never ever steal Jesus's car. Or Manuel or Juan's car. Ever!)

This new offer is from a musician. Back in the day, I asked you all if we should stage the house, and the resounding answer was no. I did, however, leave the piano, partly because it looks good in the basement, but mostly because it's really hard to move through the snow. I think this may have been a good move (or non-move). The musician probably saw the piano and instantly saw himself living there and happily playing the piano. The original offer, this morning, included the piano to be sold with the house, but I said,

"I can't give up my piano on my birthday. I miss it!"

So, we counter-offered, for three thousand more and no piano in the deal, and he accepted! Right away, too. [Mr. and Mrs. X never did a thing without talking to their lawyer for 48 hours, first, and then doing not quite exactly what they said they would do.] After all that nonsense with the other people, Mr. Musician is looking great!

One thing I do know, is that musicians are good people. Mostly.

I've had this theory about musicians for a long time, actually. The concentration that is necessary to learn an instrument also makes you someone who can concentrate for long periods of time, in general. Therefore, your judgement might be more clear than other people's, because you have the patience to work things out. Also the joy of making music makes you naturally more mellow, and you can be nicer because you experience deep joy more often than most people.

I've noticed this substituting in schools. You can go to the worst school in town and teach instrumental music and have no problems. I've done it.

One could argue that it is not necessary to be a musician to feel this way, and that's true. But the other people who gain such joy purely from listening to music, or others who concentrate deeply on different hobbies, while they may still be good people, those people are just harder to identify.

Cheers to Mr. Musician.