So, where was I?

Okay, I was examining the piano in the thrift store. The name decal was very faint, but I could just make out "Mathushek" and New Haven Connecticut. I had never heard that name before.
So, anyway, I started thinking, and pretty soon was craving this instrument. I like old, odd and unusual things, and this was that. It looked to me like something I could work on, since I had worked on two pianos before.

Let's see, first was a big old massive upright grand from the 20s or so, made in Boston. I cant' remember the manufacturer. On that one, I replaced all the bridle tapes, and a bunch of the leather butts. The next was an old bird-cage style upright, which I bought for $50 from a house in Mission Hills. It was a rat's next inside, literally. I had to vacuum out all the little rat turds and the fluff from the rat nests. They had chewed through some of the actions, and the instrument was no playable. Of course, it was a pile of crap to begin with, but it was a interesting hobby to restore this thing. The only good thing about it was the finish was a nice veneer, and there was a little marquetry on the cabinet and two brass candle holders. THat one, I had a lot of restoration to do. I had to cannibalize pieces here and there, and in the end the top two keys had to be sacrificed for parts for the rest of the scale. My friend John McCormack fabricated parts for me in his garage wood shop. And I got it playing again, for what it was worth. It wouldn't hold its tune at all. So I eventually sold it to a furniture scavenger for $100. 200% return, plus hours of entertainment! Such a deal.
So, I figured I was ready to do a real restoration now, and this one could be the one. It fit all my requirements: it was a grand action. It was small, even for a square grand which usually are in excess of 6 feet by 4our feet. This is about 5'8'' by 3'8". It was made for the kind of music I like to play, 18th and 19th Century salon music. It was certainly distinctive.
I began to agonize. I went to my friend Brad, and weighed the pros and cons, needing another outside point of view, so I didn't carry myself away. The only cons I could see was that it was a 150 year old instrument, and in the condition any 150 year old machine would be in. But on the pro side, it was actually in pretty good shape, and its defects were going to be my hobby, so the more the merrier!!!
I went back to the piano store and looked at the three grands again. But I no longer was even considering them, now. It had turned into the Mathushek or nothing.
I went back to the thrift store with my music, this time, and played some of the stuff I am working on. It handled everything I tried out on it.
I went to the manager, to see if he had any information about the provenance, but he could tell me nothing. He did tell me it had been on the floor for 6 months, and he had reduced it by half over that time. I asked him if he was willing to cut me a deal, and he offered to knock another 10% off, which would cover the tax.
By now, it had been perhaps a week. I was agonizing. I thought to give them $50 for a first refusal, in case someone else got interested in it. Foolish me! Nobody but an idiot like me would want that piece of crap!
I don't remember now how I made the final decision, but really, I decided the first day I saw it, and realized it worked. The last time I had seen a square piano for sale in town must have been around 1979 or so. It was a large one, and had a couple locked drawers in it. I imagined finding an original Chopin manuscript in it or something! But I was not in a position to buy then.
So, opened my tin can under the bed again, and got some bucks out. Not a lot, after all, it cost less than a new computer! Went over to the store, bought it, they put on the Sold tag, and hooked me up with the piano mover, who would come by in about three days to pick it up for me.
So, yay! I bought a piano! What a crazy thing!