Jim, (Zuki) one of the stories I heard that sent chills down my spine was from a resident in a Jewish retirement community near Owings Mills, Maryland. I played for his 97th through 100th birthdays, he was always very pleasant, had a very strong accent that at first I could not place. He was from Romania and during WWII he was a Colonial in the Romanian Army. He was captured by the Nazis, sent to Buchenwald where he was tattooed on his forearm with a number, then sent to a slave labor camp, where he spent the next two years. When he was liberated by the US Army, he was one day away from being sent to the gas chamber. He said during those two years of imprisonment he lost nearly 80 pounds and only weighed 75 pounds when he was liberated. He lost his entire family while he was incarcerated, both parents, his brother and sister, and his wife and child. They were all executed by the SS because he was Jewish. I felt very fortunate to know him, and to hear his life's story, which brought tears to my eyes. He was a very compassionate individual and attended every performance during my decade of playing at that facility. He passed away just prior to his 101st birthday.

Fran, write this on your calendar - I FULLY AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT ACCORDION PLAYERS BEING THE BEST ARRANGER KEYBOARD PLAYERS. Piano players, especially those that are trained, are often quite good, but for the most part, they can't hold a candle to a good, trained accordion player, at least that has been my experience.

Cheers,

Gary