The following was written by my late wife Elaine. She wrote a long book, a diary really, from which this is one passage:
Selling the Piano Teaching Studio
We advertised the studio for sale and three years later it was bought by members of “Mt. Prospect Baptist Church.” They expanded it and finished the large room into a very nice sanctuary, and added a handicapped ramp, and it’s an attractive, growing church with at least 70 members. I attended a couple of Sunday morning services there and was happy to see it used so well. Good for them!
The wallpaper in my studio room and the entrance hall which Dave and I put up, and the bathroom which Dave and Jonathan built were just as they were when we sold it.
During the time when the building was for sale – when I was the homebound teacher – our children continued to use it for meeting friends in town, and for awhile I rented it to a vivacious and gutsy blind friend, the Presbyterian minister’s wife, Susie W., who used it for teaching piano lessons, like I had done. I visited her once at her home and was amazed at how well she coped with blindness, dashing up and down stairs. But at first I worried about her heating the studio with firewood which she brought with her and carried in; however, there were no mishaps.
Susie, I admired your spirit and courage.
To be continued…
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About the Author: RD Blakeslee (1931 – 2024) built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family