Moving Van Cliburn's Piano

The closest I ever came to show business in my entire life was helping to move a concert grand piano that Van Cliburn would be playing that night. Penn State University owned the piano and the concert was scheduled for Recreation Hall on Penn State's main campus. It must have been around 1975 or thereabouts. Bryce Jordan Center didn't exist then and Eisenhower Auditorium must have been booked up, I can't really recall.

It took about a dozen guys, one large box truck with a lift gate, a lot of heavily-padded tarps, rolls of nylon strapping with ratchets, several carpeted dollies, a couple Johnson Bars, assorted hand tools and about a half a day to transfer that magnificent instrument from Schwab Auditorium to Rec Hall.

At Schwab Auditorium we had to lay the monstrosity on its side and then remove the legs and reverse that process at Rec Hall. After three or four hours of grunting, swearing, name-calling and finger-pointing the job was done but, in the end, we were all "friends" again. Apparently, we didn't do any damage to that beautiful concert grand and that's probably because we handled it like it was the Ark of the Covenant.

Hell, I wish I had gotten to see Van Cliburn play that damn thing that night.