Man, 80, ordered to stop playing violin at home

Canadian Press, Arizona newspaper ^ | June 18, 2002

[Prodigal Daughter]

HAMILTON, Canada- City hall has ordered an 80-year-old man to lay down his bow and stop playing the violin in his house.

"Honest to God, this is the shock of my life," Metro (Mitch) Elash said. "Maybe I'm supposed to apologize to someone, but I don't know why."

[Prodigal Daughter]

Then he goes to the sunroom and plays for about an hour and a half.

Not even a screened porch, it's a sunroom.

[NatureGirl]

I'll bump this for you. This happened in my (ex-) hometown. I'm surprised that it's being reported so far away!

[da_toolman]

I think he should stop playing the violin. After all, the violin is annoying his neighbors...

Yep, drop the violin and start learning the alto saxaphone.

[Redcloak]

He should take up the bagpipes instead. Perhaps that would make the anonymous neighbor happy.

[kstewskis]

My gosh, Hamilton has the "violin police?"

It could be a lot worse. He could play a screeching electric guitar, or drums.

I'd gladly trade that 80 year old man as a neighbor for the loud "familias" down the street who blast their mariachi noise every weekend. He'd be most welcome in my neighborhood anytime!

[Puppage]

But I'm sure screaming children are okay...what with their self esteem being sooo fragile.....................

[1Old Pro]

Noise ordinances never accomplish what they are supposed to.

[vikingchick]

Turkey in the Straw should be outlawed. The ice cream trucks around here play it over and over and over and over....:)

[RightWhale]

There is a tiny device known as a mute that can be placed on the bridge for practicing without disturbing others.

[Maceman]

I once lived in a small apartment overlooking an alley, and a guy in the building across the way used to practice the piano and grunt to the music (a la Errol Garner) all day and night.

The only piece he ever played was Moussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" (mostly the opening fanfare.) His playing was real loud and ham-handed, too.

It used to drive me absolutely nuts. Now when I hear that piece today it's "Slowly I Turn" time.

[another cricket]

He should take up the tuba. Not the baby kind either. I swear you can see the air vibrate.

a.cricket

[Nachum]

Maybe we should all chip in and get the man an amplifier.

[wimpycat]

In my neighborhood, the ice cream truck plays The Entertainer over and over again.

[jrg]

He should take up the bagpipes instead. Perhaps that would make the anonymous neighbor happy.
Don't laugh...we had someone in our neighborhood a couple of blocks away take up the bagpipes. You could hear them 4 block away, but it wasn't too bad. He played them rather well (or so I thought....come to think of it....how can you tell a bad bagpipe player?)

[RightWhale]

He could get one of those funny-looking electric violins and a headphone amp and slap those headphones on.

[mountaineer]

Sounds familiar. I lived in a 2nd floor apartment where the fellow on the 1st floor waited until 3 a.m. every day to practice his guitar in the room directly beneath my bed. He seemed to be a beginner, too. Augghhh!

[Jagdgewehr]

Turkey in the Straw should be outlawed. The ice cream trucks around here play it over and over and over and over....:)

LOL!

When I was a kid, my folks took me to a park where some Old-timers were performing their music (apparently, some local group). When the fiddler started playing Turkey in the Straw, I shouted out, "Dad, they're playing the ice cream song!"