Hello Sheri This story brought me to tears. It's just beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Original message: > Robby's Night
> True Story Worth Reading !!! > At the prodding of my friends, I am writing this story. My name > is > Mildred Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher > from Des Moines, Iowa. I've always supplemented my income by > teaching piano lessons-something I've done for over 30 years. Over > the years I found that children have many levels of musical > ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a prodigy though I > have taught some talented students. > However, I've also had my share of what I call 'musically > challenged' pupils One such student was Robby. Robby was 11 years > old when his mother (a single Mom) dropped him off for his first > piano lesson. I prefer that students (especially boys!) begin at > an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. > But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to > hear > him play the piano. So I took him as a student. Well, Robby began > with his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a > hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of > tone and basic rhythm needed to excel but he dutifully reviewed > his scales and some elementary pieces that I require all my > students to learn. > Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed > and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he'd > always say, 'My mom's going to hear me play someday.' But it > seemed hopeless. He just did not have any inborn ability. I only > knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited > in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled but > never stopped in. > Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. > I thought about calling him but assumed because of his lack of > ability, that he had decided to pursue sometng else. I also was > glad that he stopped coming. He was a bad advertisement for my > teaching! > Several weeks later I mailed to the student's homes a flyer on > the > upcoming recital. To my surprise Robby (who received a flyer) > asked me if he could be in the recital I told him that the > recital was for current pupils and because he had dropped out he > really did not qualify. He said that his mother had been sick and > unable to take him to piano lessons but he was still practicing > 'Miss Hondorf, I've just got to play!' he insisted. > I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital. > Maybe it was his persistence or maybe it was something inside of > me saying that it would be all right. The night for the recital > came. The high school gymnasium was packed with parents, friends > and relatives. I put Robby up last in the program before I was to > come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I > thought that any damage he would do would come at the end of the > program and I could always salvage his poor performance through my > 'curtain closer.' > Well, the recital went off without a hitch. The students had > been > practicing and it showed, then Robby came up on stage. His clothes > were wrinkled and his hair looked like he'd run an eggbeater > through it. 'Why didn't he dress up like the other students?' I > thought. 'Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair > for this special night?' > Robby pulled out the piano bench and he began. I was surprised > when he announced that he had chosen Mozart's Concerto #2120 in C > Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were > light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went > from pianissimo to fortissimo. From allegro to virtuoso. His > suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I > heard Mozart played so well by people his age. After six and a > half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo and everyone was on > their feet in wild applause. > Overcome and in tears, I ran up on stage and put my arms around > Robby in joy. 'I've never heard you play like that Robby! How'd > you do it? ' > Through the microphone Robby explained: 'Well, Miss Hondorf, > remember I told you my Mom was sick? Well, actually she had cancer > and passed away this morning and well. .. She was born deaf so > tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to > make it special.' > There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As the people > from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into > foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy and > I thought to myself how much richer my life had been for taking > Robby as my pupil. > No, I've never had a prodigy but that night I became a prodigy > . > .. Of Robby's. He was the teacher and I was the pupil for it is he > that taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and believing > in yourself and maybe even taking a chance in someone and you > don't know why. > Robby was killed in the senseless bombing of the Alfred P. > Murrah > Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April of 1995. > -- > Access the Recipes And More list archives at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ > Visit the group home page at: > http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore -- Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network. Visit www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere. -- Access the Recipes And More list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ Visit the group home page at: http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore
