For anyone not at the family auction down in Junction, UT, let me tell you about my newly acquired violin. It is a 3/4 size violin which was originally Aunt Dixie's, then later Melinda's. It is in Grandma Jane's case (which still had Grandma Jane's rosin in it). Many of the hairs on the bow were broken and had to be pulled out. The bow was also missing the tension screw (it was still possible to tighten the bow using pliers, but a bit of a pain). The violin had the D and A strings still on and the bridge intact.
For the auction, each family was given a certain amount of Monopoly money to share among themselves. Quite a few interesting things were auctioned off. When the violin was placed on the table, I got really excited. I have wanted to play the violin ever since I was about 10. I made the first bid at "all the money we have." Jenni, the keeper of the money for our family, tried to get me to calm down a bit. After I promised to cherish the violin, the family all agreed to let me have it. Later that evening I attempted to tune the two strings and play a bit. Jane came in to listen (later I heard she had been running all around the courthouse looking for the music). I made a face and said to Jane, "Sounds pretty bad, huh" She replied "No, I think it sounds beautiful." She refused the first time I offered to let her try, but accepted the second time. She pulled the bow across those strings just right to make a beautiful tone.
The violin didn't exactly fit in any of my bags, but they let me carry it on the airplane in addition to my suitcase and backpack. So now it's home and with some new strings and a few other things it will be ready to go.
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