The best times my father and I had were going to yard sales on the weekends looking for musical instruments. Especially antique ones. He would find a piece, and then haggle with the owner over price. Afterwards, we would go for ice cream and head home. The rest of the afternoon would be spent in his workshop; refinishing or rebuilding these pieces of musical history. It was funny, a lot of times he would throw out most of his inventory because he was just looking for one part. Like a mouthpiece or horn section.
For a while, I would see so many musical instruments come and go, but never knew what happened to them. I found out later that he sold the finished units to collectors. It turns out that the antique music business is very lucrative. There are lots of collectors looking to own a part of music history. There are shows and conventions all over the world.
He enjoyed going to the big gatherings, but he was partial to the bazaars and garage sales. It was like a treasure hunt for him. He was always on the prowl for an instrument that may have been played by a famous band member. He relied on sellers naivete of the top stars in jazz and classical to hopefully unearth a rare find. Most of the time there was no such luck, but he usually walked away with something he could fix and sell.
He made a nice living off of rebuilding old guitars and trumpets. I often wondered though: why this instead of maybe cars or coins? It happens that his father shared with him his love of early jazz. That time they spent together listening to records and going to concerts was how they bonded. Now, he and I are able to share the same experience every weekend. I am sure that I will want to bring that same love of music with to time that I will spend with my children.
