Hi Robbie,  I don't know if you have ever been asked why you
collect mechanical music, but I sure have.  I have a new answer --
To lose weight!

How, you say?  For those of you who have met Robbie, you know he's
about as big around as a telephone pole.  That's because you can't
play rags like Robbie does and not burn tons of calories.  But neither
can you listen to them!

Anyone who can listen to Arden and Carroll's Fox Trot Medley no. 2
(especially "Happy Days Are Here Again") and not either dance around
or bounce in your seat, you'd better check to see if you are alive.

The Old Time Jazz Program (Ampico 163) - particularly "My Little Bimbo
Down on the Bamboo Isle" should also get most of your parts in motion!
Any of the Original Piano Trio rolls will do it.  And that's just
pianos.

Then there is Beer Barrel Polka [Rosamunde] on _lots_ of monkey and
band organs, some of the really silly turn of the century tunes on disc
music boxes, and yes, I have a rousing rendition of "The Celebrated
Chop" - better known as "Chop Stix" on a cylinder music box!

Then there is another element of calorie burning: toting any kind of
mechanical music (even snuff boxes if you get enough of them in a box)
is weight lifting exercise.  And as for stretching and weight lifting,
how about lifting a monkey organ off the floor to its cart -- the kind
that has the brackets for a leather strap on the bottoms and weigh
about 75 pounds.  Or stretching to reach the roll that just rolled
under the back corner of the piano.

Now, we have the perfect accepted answer for collecting our "stuff!"
It is our personal weight control system!

(That all came out of having too much mental time while preparing the
mailing for the next Southeast Chapter MBSI meeting and cranking up the
Ampico.)

Beatrice Robertson

 [ Walter Donaldson & Edgar Leslie wrote this advice for you in 1929,
 [ Beatrice.  It's the verse of "'Tain't No Sin (To Take Off Your Skin
 [ and Dance Around in your Bones)":
 [
 [ "Dancing may do this and that,
 [     and help you take off lots of fat,
 [  But I'm no friend of dancing when it's hot!
 [  So if you are a dancing fool,
 [     who loves to dance but can't keep cool,
 [  Bear in mind the idea that I've got: ... "
 [
 [ -- Robbie  :-)