The Great Organ Caper

Finding the Organ

Some number of weeks ago, I had the painful realization that I was going into withdrawal...

and it wasn't just ANY kind of withdrawal! No! It had to be one of the worst kinds of withdrawal there is, right when I was already faced with enough academic responsibilities. That, adoring fans, is having-a-keyboarded-instrument-right-there-in-my-room withdrawal. I already had been playing with a tiny electronic keyboard I found in my mom's garage, but eventually a tolerance built up and I knew I'd have to find a bigger hit.

It was at that time the taller of my two roommates, Coilin-pronounced-Colin, made the suggestion that a good source of lulz would be to acquire some large object from somebody on Craigslist and place it in the room on the following Saturday morning, while my other roommate, John, was still asleep. The plan would then have been to wait until John wakes up, and pretend as if nothing in the room had changed, and that the then-undetermined large object was not new at all.

While poking around the different sections on Craigslist, I came across inspiration. I suddenly really wanted to get an organ in the room. I sent emails to a few of the people who had listed organs they wanted to sell, and finally got a response from a couple of electrical engineers only two miles away in possession of a 1959 Wurlitzer Electric Organ complete with vacuum tubes and more than a few certified and accredited levels of vintage awesome.

The First Retrieval Attempt

...didn't go as planned. This is likely due to having NOT DONE MUCH PLANNING AT ALL. That's how I roll though, so why don't you bring your own damn umbrellas to stay dry when you're crying about it. Actually it wasn't really a retrieval attempt. If it were a retrieval attempt, the attempt qualifier would quickly become unnecessary as the attempt becomes simply a retrieval.

The Recon Mission, which it totally was from the start.

I recruited Coilin, and got a hold of a hand cart so we could push it along and get some exercise. I also used Google Maps to get directions, and bought some Gatorade to create the illusion of hydrating ourselves on that hot day.

We pushed the cart all the way to this house, which turned out to be on a rather large hill. Indeed, there were a great deal more hills than the maps had indicated; which is to say the maps hadn't indicated hills at all. The lesson learned that day is there will be an excess of hills and bridges when travelling anywhere in Pittsburgh.

Anyway, when we got there the proprietors of the organ had given us quite the incredulous look when we showed up with a total of two people and a push cart. I ventured into their abode to examine the organ in person, and indeed it was a prize to behold. My already impressive determination to make this organ a fixture in my living space was doubled that day.

Coilin and I returned to the dorm empty-handed that day, but as scouts on a reconnaissance mission we had succeeded. I now had all the information needed to complete a retrieval operation.

This operation would have to take place two weeks later though, due to the availability of the persons selling the organ. Incidentally John happened to be returning home to California for a day. He would be sure to encounter a great surprise on his return.

OPERATION GRAB-MY-ORGAN

Two weeks later, I returned to that house with one-and-a-half times as many people, and most importantly a car. This car would prove to be just sufficient to transport the instrument back to Morewood Gardens, my dorm building.

With the might of three people and a transforming hand-truck, we carefully guided the very heavy appliance down about 15 steps, which kept getting narrower, until we at last reached the street. After measuring the organ, and the back hatch of new recruit Matt Glisson's car, we determined that the organ might not fit. Then the organ did fit. After redistributing the contents of the car, detaching the front legs of the organ and stashing them inside the piano bench, we packed ourselves into the car and began the trip back to campus.

With the additional weight of the organ, the car handled much like a truck; however our fearless pilot Matt was undeterred and we found ourselves back on campus. 

Getting It Upstairs

Another detail that had been dismissed earlier was the fact that, although Morewood Gardens DOES indeed have elevators, none are accessible from the ground level outside. I of course had dismissed this because I knew that with our combined manpower we could haul this right up the front steps and get it to an elevator.

I summoned my contacts and hailed down a friend who had coincidentally passed by as these events were being made to take place. With each man to a corner of the organ, laid on its back, we carried it up the stairs with the greatest of ease... thrilling passers-by with our astounding ability to take up the entire width of the stairs. 

The rest was simply a matter of pushing the organ on the cart over to an elevator, and sliding it in place in the room.

SUCCESS!

See that right there? Thats the organ. Its in my room. Suck on that, planning and organization!

Now I have an electric organ in my dorm room. What up with that.