Between the piano and the wall is my favorite place, it has been for a long, long time. I remember years ago sitting there, looking out of the window while my mother played the piano. I could rest my head against the piano legs and feel the vibrations of the music as I looked down at the windows in the apartment building across the alley.
Apartments 2G, 2H, and 2I all had windows I could see from my space between the piano and the wall. Even before I really knew what a soap opera was, I was able to watch my own private operas as they unfolded to Mother's piano music. Initially it was more a dance than anything as the people moved and I heard the accompanying piano, but as I grew a bit older I added lyrics to the music as the people's lips moved in the rooms below, I imagined them singing.
Later, I didn't need to make up the lyrics, I was able to listen in to the real conversations thanks to one of the great new toys that year called the "Big Ear." Most of my friends at school reveled over their new GI Joes, instead, I set up my "Big Ear" and simply listened in. It all worked great until 2H stuck a window air conditioner in their window. With the window closed and the unit running, I was once again deaf to the people in 2H. I could still peek in the window above the window unit, but I was back to inventing my own lyrics to their soap opera.
Fortunately 2G and 2I spoke clearly to my "amplified ears" and I slowly learned the significance of the things they discussed and the things they did. Of course about the time I really learned to take full advantage of the vantage point I headed off to college. I was gone about five years, only returning to the apartment to visit a few times until my mother died. Between jobs at the time, I found it was cheaper to move into the old apartment than stay in my place.
I moved out most of mother's old furniture and replaced it with my own, leaving only the piano in the exact spot it stayed for years and years. The first evening I spent there I couldn't wait until early evening when I could sit down in my old spot and take a peek down into the lives in 2G, 2H and 2I. Noticing the space seemed smaller than I had recalled I turned sideways and eased in between the piano and the wall, sitting down on the floor. I could see the stain in the floor I was never quite able to clean completely in my younger years as I scooted up and then glanced down to those three apartments.
Well, the window air conditioning unit in 2H was newer and some new drapes covered the glass above the unit, so the lives in 2H remained invisible to me. Likewise, 2G had their blinds down and closed so I was unable to see anything. I guess with all the computers and TV screens in the apartments now, outside lighting was no longer a desirable thing.
Ah, but when I glanced over to 2I the window coverings were pulled back and I had a good view into what was now a bedroom, with a perfect view of the bed. No one was home at this time but I didn't mind, I simply rested my head on the piano leg and let my mind wander to some of the sights I saw over the years. Mostly it was the mundane day to day of a number of different people, but occasionally I got to watch some interesting things.
