Thanks for the Music

A repost of my most popular story.

Beauty? Or the Beast?

The world is full of divine music.

Violin music.

And it has my Husby to thank for it.

Maybe I should explain . . .

When Husby was eight, his parents, like many parents have, decided that he should do something . . . musical.

Piano?

Trumpet?

Tuba?

No.

They opted for the violin.

And he agreed.

A small violin was purchased at no small sacrifice for a less-than-wealthy family.

Dutifully, Husby carried it to the home of his chosen violin teacher, Mrs. Baines.

A woman of nearly two hundred years of age.

Okay, probably not quite two hundred.

But to a small boy of eight, a woman in her seventies was truly ancient.

Back to my story . . .

Once a week, throughout the fall and the winter, she taught.

And he learned.

She took him on a slow and careful tour of the violin world.

Demonstrating proper technique.

Bow handling.

Correct finger positions.

Tried to pour into his young mind, her love of all things violin.

He was, admittedly, a slow learner.

She taught.

He struggled.

In the spring, his parents received a phone call.

There would be no more lessons from Mrs. Baines. The poor woman had suffered a fatal heart attack.

Shocked, Husby wondered if he was somehow to blame.

He put his violin away for a while. He needed to think this through.

Thinking lasted throughout the summer.

Finally, in the fall, he consented to try again.

His parents found another teacher.

One who was only one hundred and fifty years old.

Again, they started in.

She taught.

He struggled.

A few months went past.

Another fateful phone call.

Another heart attack.

Not fatal this time, thank goodness. But strong enough that his second teacher was hanging up her baton for good.

Sigh.

This time, when Husby put his violin back into its case, nothing could induce him to remove it.

Nothing.

He was convinced that his playing – or lack thereof – was the reason that both of his violin teachers suffered heart attacks.

That conviction remains to this day.

He takes the argument further.

By hanging up his bow, so to speak, he saved violin teachers everywhere.

Enabling them to continue to teach the bright, talented young people who have grown into the world's foremost violin players.

Thus preserving and ensuring beautiful violin music everywhere.

So when you hear an exquisite piece?

Thank my Husby.