A few years ago, right around Thanksgiving time, a family of Russian folks came to our accordion museum. They had an accordion that needed repair. Jacob, the patriarch of the family, was 94 at the time and he wanted his old Hohner accordion to be repaired. As his great grandson, Igor, translated, he explained that this instrument was with him for most of his life in Russia. He told me that he had to hide it many times from the Communists who took most everything else that he had. He would play that accordion for his family every night after their meager supper. All the memories of his family and friends were contained in that instrument along with the songs they would sing as he played. He knew his time was growing short to be here, and he really wanted to hear those songs and re-live the memories. He was very anxious to know if I could fix it.
He then reached into a bag and took out the accordion. His hands trembled as he handed it to me. My heart sank as I learned that the accordion was in a flood a very long time ago. I could see that much of the instrument was well beyond repair, and my body language must have sent the message to everyone that there was no hope of repair. I was desperate for a solution. So, I quietly said a very short prayer. That’s when Igor said, “Paul, how about this accordion? Will this serve the purpose?” Igor reached down and lifted up an accordion that was sitting on a shelf behind Jacob, and handed it to me. I was stunned. It was the exact same maker, model, color, and button configuration as Jacob’s instrument! The odds of finding another instrument in my collection that matched his accordion in such detail were just astronomical. I wasn’t even aware that I had that unit on the shelf. To this day I still have no logical explanation of how that happened.
Jacob placed the accordion on his lap and hesitatingly began to play the old songs. Soon, tears of joy began to fall from his eyes. Others in the room, including me, became very emotional as well. I was struck with how much joy and happiness Jacob and his family received from the simple songs he played. It was amazing to see someone as old as him remember how to play and sing the songs even though it had been so many years since he had access to a working accordion.
This story came back to me most recently with all of the tumultuously bad news we hear every day. It’s easy to forget that we have anything to be thankful for. But we do…we have a great deal to be thankful for. When miracles like the one I’ve just described occur, we need to stop and bask in their meaning and beauty. The Thanksgiving holiday is exactly the right time to do that. Here in America, we have been blessed with so much more than most of the world’s population.
We must never forget that.
Why, we even have access to one of the world’s foremost accordion museums right here in Canaan, Ct!
Now that’s a real miracle….
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Paul Ramunni NEACMC.com