Accordion Heaven

Accordion Heaven
Originally uploaded by thegreatplotnik.

This is a portion of one wall at Smythe's Accordion Shop in Smokeland. Some of these beauties are antiques, some are brand new, some are from Germany, some are from China, some are big, some are small, some are cheap and some cost plenty. It's a paradise of a place, though it's not easy to find.

Kid virtuosos prance through the door, along with grizzled Latino tejano players, polka fans with tattoos and the assorted Accordion Playing Leader of a D-Minor Western Religon.

It's an unexplained phenomenon at Smythe's Accordion Shop that people who have listened to nothing but Metallica for the past 25 years strap on an accordion and immediately launch into a waltz or a polka.