The Residents of the Music Room

   The past few weeks C has been attending Toastmaster meetings with me. Usually the guests are not called upon for Table Topics unless it looks like they might be open to trying. Helen was in charge of Table Topics and she called on C. She asked him, "If your guitar could talk, what would it way?"
   It was a great question. C took a breath and then answer that his guitar would probably chide him for not practicing. I liked his answer and it got me thinking. If any of the current residents of the music room could talk, what would they say?
  The music room is a little full these days. Sunshine and Alvarez live there along with a Yamaha six string,the Gibson six string electric and the banjo. Margaret and Eve, the lap harps also share the space and the dulcimer (who doesn't have a name, yet) take up one corner. We also moved the viola that I had in high school into the music room. The dry basement is not a good place for any instrument to live.
   I think Alvarez would be a bit miffed. After all he was the dominant instrument until Sunshine came along. He was the guitar that C played on his last CD and the guitar C would use when he used to perform. I'm not sure he would like the fact that his role has been usurped by a newcomer and a foreign one at that. (Sunshine is a Tanglewood built in Great Britain.)
  The dulcimer would want to know why she's been exiled to the music room. For many months she lived in the living room where she was easy to see and I would remember to practice. Since she's been in the music room she does not get much interaction with the humans, although she does interact with the other instruments. A month or so ago she got some new strings. I could tell that she liked them. She sounded like an entirely new instrument.
   The banjo sits on a stand in the corner. I know what he's thinking. "When am I going to get a new drum? Don't you think it's time I got a new one? And while your at it, could someone tighten my clamps?"
  The Gibson is in the corner. He was in the basement and was brought upstairs. Since then he's not been out of his case.  I know what he would say. "Could someone please open my case? It's dark in here. I can't see anything? what's going on?!"
   Margaret would answer from across the room. "It's all right, you are among friends." She doesn't enjoy her weekly tuning. She lets me know this by making some of her strings sharp and some of them flat.
   I'm not sure what the other ones would say or think. The viola would probably want a tuning and some play time. It's been awhile and her strings are pretty loose. Eve looks so cheerful in her spot next to Margaret.
   Maybe if I spent more time in there., I would know....