25 years ago when I moved to the wilds of Idaho from Reno, Nevada,
I was forced to leave my piano for several reasons, one being that
I moved into an unimproved log school house that had been built in
1887 with only a wood stove for heat, and the first winter here it
got 45 degrees below zero.  This isn't good for pianos.

I had learned to improvise pop and jazz around lead sheets and had
never learned to actually read music.  So about 5 years ago, after
being without a piano for 20 years, and after home improvements and
heat, I decided to buy a piano, take up playing classical music,
and learn to read music.

This has indeed forestalled the atrophies of senility.  In the
past, when I would lose my shoes or some other article, I would
automatically go stare into the refrigerator.  Now, thanks to piano
practice, I often find them there at the piano.

Patty Slayton
Moore, ID  USA