Note to a Realtor

Thank you for inviting me to play piano for the open house at XXXXX in Pasadena. It was quite enjoyable and would love to participate in another similar event in the future.

I had an interesting thought on Saturday night and a funny experience on Sunday that I thought I would share. I was practicing some songs on Saturday night that might be appropriate, like Strangers in the Night and Hey Big Spender and I had a thought: The open house is kind of like an exorcism, where we are inviting the departed spirit to "leave their house" and "let go of the earthly attachment" for the last time. They loved the house and they don't really want to leave any more than any of us want to die. But the spirit has to move on and let go of the house, just like we have to move on and let go of our own attachments to the past. The open house is a way of "cleansing the house" of the old spirit and restoring it to an unattached state so someone else may live there. The piano music helps the process, because all human activities are accompanied by music.

Now here is the funny part:

In this case, playing the familiar Frank Sinatra Music makes the spirit feel comfortable and relaxed like their home is being properly respected, but the new 1960's pop music is unfamiliar and encourages the spirit to "not hang around". After all -- there is all eternity for the spirit to live in and it doesn't need to hang around an old house any more. (Aside: This habit of spirits hanging around is kind of like snakes and lizards hanging around their old skin when they shed their skin.)

On Sunday, when I was playing "Folsom Prison Blues" a little tiny bug or gnat kept flying in my face and flying around my hands. Now don't laugh, but I got the distinct impression that this bug was the former owner and she was not happy about being dead or having strangers in her house. During the entire song this stupid bug kept flying in my face and I had not seen any bugs all day except a few dragon flies outside. Emi noticed the bug also, but she doesn't particularly like Johnny Cash music, so she thought it was funny. And THEN when I played "Leaving on a Jet Plane" the bug was gone and there was a lightness and openness in the room that everyone felt. I got two compliments on that particular song. I had the distinct impression that the old woman spirit finally let go of the house and she is gone. She is now off to the happy spirit land wherever that is and the house is ready to be sold.

Anyway it is kind of a silly story, but I thought I would share it with you.

Good luck with the sale.

copyright (c) 2017

William Schaeffer