Piano Stories

My name is James Briggs, and I have a story to tell. My life was changed forever by a set of carefully chosen words, spoken in a carefully chosen manner. Those profound words were to influence the path I chose. In life, we all make choices; some of these are wiser than others. Only with the vision of hindsight do we know which was which. My story begins after I left university. Actually, I couldn’t wait to leave universit...

Piano Lessons When I was about three and a half, we left Darby, and moved to live with my father’s parents in their house in Catonsville. We had our own apartment in three rooms of their house, but since they were my grandparents, and their daughter was only six years older than I, I pretty much had the run of the entire house. Except I wasn’t allowed in my great grandmother’s room without being invited. She was very stra...

I was appalled when I heard that Texas A&M students regularly threw old pianos on bonfires at their parties. What sacrilege. I would sit in my cozy living room and play my keyboard with the doors wide open while it rained and the sheeting sweep of rain would fill my house with magic. I would play deep into the night. I would play and my soul would grow calm. One day my door was kicked in and my keyboard was taken. I moved...

The keys give. Under the weight of her fingers,  they fold and make one sound,  then one more,  and as she moves down the line,  getting a feel for the beautiful instrument,  many more notes fill the air. They permeate it with their soft tones  of love and friendship,  and then the darker, more sinister tones  of betrayal and deceit...  hate and anger and bitter sadness, but still this beautiful instrument is hers to use,...

This small forgotten bar in the middle of the city The girl sits behind the piano No one pays her any mind except meHer smile a slash of sadnessShe plays her first chord And from nowhere this jazz sound emergesShe should be playing in concerts Her fingers caress the ivory keys She coaxes brilliance out of the tired old piano in the cornerAnd she sings of heartache and beauty She bares her soul so personally it makes me wa...