Sunday’s tornado tore the roof off the Johnson home on 29th Street here, ripped tiles off the floor and destroyed two of the family’s four vehicles. But it did not take the grand piano.
“We can save it!” exclaimed Drew Johnson, 21, amid a steady rain in the living room Monday evening as the family examined what was left of its house.
“I think it’s dead, baby,” said his mother, Patti, a part-time musician. “It weighs 800 pounds.”
“We have so many people here,” Drew Johnson insisted, motioning to the dozen or so college students who had come to help. “This is our best chance to save it.”
Five minutes later, the piano was sheltered under a blue tent across the street, a small victory amid so much despair.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Joplin family saves grand piano after tornado
An offbeat New York Times article describes how a Joplin family saved an 800-pound grand piano:
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3 comments:
Lots of death and destruction. Why does NY Times think this piano is worthy of a story this early in the process?
No one would ever discount the tragedy of lives lost. However, even the smallest saved item... Can mean so much to the person it belongs to. It's difficult to understand if you haven't been through a situation where you've lost everything.
It's all about the moral victory. Unless you were in my shoes, you wouldn't understand.
- Drew Johnson
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