The Piano Partner

Ruth Eisenberg and Margaret Patrick play the piano. They give concerts in the United States and in Canada, and they are often on TV. They are famous.  Why are these women famous? They play the piano well, but they are not famous because they play well. They are famous because Mrs. Eisenberg plays the piano with only her right hand, and Mrs. Patrick plays the piano with only her left hand. They sit next to each other and play the piano together. Mrs. Patrick plays the other part.

Mrs. Eisenberg and Mrs. Patrick didn't always play the piano with only one hand. They used to play with two hands. Mrs. Patrick was a piano teacher. She taught hundreds of students.  She taught her own children, too. Then when she was 69 years old, Mrs. Patrick had a stroke. She couldn't move or speak. Gradually she got better, but her right side was still very weak. She couldn't play the piano anymore.  She was very sad.

Playing the piano was Mrs. Eisenberg's hobby. She often played five or six hours a day. Then when she was 80 years old, she too, had a stroke. She couldn't move the left side of her body, so she couldn't play the piano anymore. She was very sad.

A few months after her stroke, Mrs. Eisenberg went to a senior citizens' center. There were a lot of activities at the center, and Mrs. Eisenberg wanted to keep busy. Mrs. Patrick wanted to keep busy, too.

A few weeks later, she went to the same center. The director was showing her around the center when Mrs. Patrick saw a piano. She looked sadly at the piano. "Is anything wrong?" the director asked.  "No," Mrs. Patrick answered. "The director looked at  Mrs. Patrick's weak right hand and said, "Wait here. I'll be right back." A few minutes later the director came back with Mrs. Eisenberg. "Margaret Patrick," the director said. "meet Ruth Eisenberg.  Before her stroke she played the piano, too. She has a good right hand, and you have a good left hand. I think you two can do something wonderful together."

"Do you know Chopin's Waltz in D Flat?" Mrs. Eisenberg asked Mrs. Patrick. "Yes," Mrs. Patrick answered. The two women sat down at the piano and began to play. Mrs. Eisenberg used only her right hand, and Mrs. Patrick used only her left hand. The music sounded good. The women discovered that they loved the same music. Together they began to play the music they loved.  They were not sad anymore. Mrs. Patrick said, "Sometimes God closes a door and then opens a window. I lost my music, but I found Ruth. Now I have music again.  I have my friend Ruth,too."