Chapter 15: A New Kind of Entrance

Tony didn't like the feel of the keys. Yes, Tina had the best that money could buy in electric keyboards. You could, conceivably, adjust them very precisely and make them feel just like a piano. It just wasn't the same as a hammer striking a string.

All the other musicians, even Rebecca, could make an easy transition from acoustic to electric, except him. He realized it was just a hang-up. Eight years of piano lessons had taught him the basics of pretty much all music. It went without saying that Tina was better, but Tina had, well, Tina's hands. When all else was equal, male pianists through the years had written many things that just required big hands to play.

So Tina had her keyboard pieces that she 'made' Tony play. Tony did not refuse Tina anything, so it refuted any idea of her making him do anything that she wanted. Rebecca thought it odd at first.

His only beef was that when he played he wanted a real piano. He didn't have one today. OK, that wasn't his only beef; the song was kind of lame, in his opinion, except for the fact that it included an incredible acoustic guitar piece by Dewayne. Every piano note was either mirrored on guitar or provided harmony. It was pure musicianship by Dewayne. Tony could play it, but, as usual, not as well. He was jealous, but still appreciative of his best friend's talent.

For playing at the mall, the kids recognized they really couldn't go all out. A certain level of decorum had to be met that they wouldn't worry about at a dance or other performance. This song was one that Tina had chosen. Actually it was only Tony on the keyboard, Dewayne on acoustic (and Tony didn't care who knew he bought it, Dewayne was getting his own Ovation acoustic for Christmas) with Tina barely-there backing them on her flute. Tony mused that of all the instruments Tina played, the flute was actually her first love, though she seldom got a chance to use it with the band.

He finished the opening piano entry and began to sing Billy Joel's 'She's Always a Woman To Me.'

Tony had decided long ago that he never wanted to meet this girl. The song was popular however, and played well to the crowd gathered. The teens had taken over a large opening at one end of the mall outside a large department store. In the large depression in the center of the area, about 20 high-school students had a number of colorful wheel chairs in various states of assembly. Around ten of the students had helped earlier in the weekend, taking the chairs apart, cleaning them and sending them out to be painted. A couple of students from auto-shop even helped with the painting. That had happened on Friday afternoon. The painters had actually painted the bodies of all 16 chairs by Saturday evening. Today was Sunday and the final re-assembly was underway.

Tony had ordered hundreds of parts. New casters, wheels, seatbacks, and cushions were there along with things he would never have thought of but were suggested by the manufacturer; like brakes and the rubber handles used to push the chairs. In the end pretty much every chair was completely rebuilt from the brightly painted frame up.

To say that this many kids spread out across the mall floor building wheelchairs was noticed would be an understatement. It started small enough, just shoppers gawking to see what the fuss was all about. Then a man, seeing some kids having trouble installing a new caster, came to assist them. And another joined, and another.

Tony had every intention of ordering a huge batch of pizzas and drinks for the workers, but they appeared seemingly out of the very air with no explanation. After his second trip into the department store to buy various wrenches and other tools three two-foot high, red toolboxes full of every tool imaginable showed up. The brand name showed they had come from the same store. Again, no explanation for them was given.

After the band's first set a reporter from a local radio station showed up looking for the unannounced 'free concert'. They, like many others, were directed to Tony who tried to explain that they really were only there to entertain the workers. It ended in a two-minute live report while the band was playing their second set with some very nice compliments on the band's abilities.

That, of course, led to a television crew and a newspaper reporter, resulting in a spot on the 6 o'clock news and a small article about a bunch of do-gooder school kids building wheelchairs. Tony realized, in retrospect, all that publicity could have done a world of good if they had been fund-raising.

They had to simply turn many offers away. They didn't have an organization with a checking account and tax ID numbers. They were just a bunch of kids working on The Wheelchair Project they heard about at school.

The common theme throughout was that no one could find an adult. True, many of the kids' parents had stopped by, but none were actually supervising anything. The closest they found was the mall manager, who confirmed that the mall had allowed a high-school charity project to use the space. It had never occurred to him that the school itself wasn't directly involved. He was smart enough to soak up the publicity and not let that fact be known however.

Tony just answered honestly. The Wheelchair Project was being done by kids, for other kids. It never occurred to them that they needed a bunch of adults to help. He did praise, by name, the auto-body shop that provided the painting services. They had asked for nothing, but deserved everything they got.

[Reporter] Marcia Higgins reporting from Southside Mall where it seems an impromptu party has broken out centered around what is being called simply - The Wheelchair Project. A live band made up of high-school students is playing and as many as five-hundred people have crowded the north-end of the mall to listen and well, dance.

According to one of the organizers, Tony Smith, who is also a member of the band, The Wheelchair Project started as a prank. A young student you can easily identify also playing with the band, had her wheelchair stolen. It was returned several days later after being transformed into a lean, mean, racing machine, complete with chrome wheels and a paint-job with flames.

When the wheelchair caught the attention of a worker at Rankers Memorial, the idea was formed. A dozen chairs were built for the hospital today as well as four others for private pediatric practices. Earlier we asked Tony Smith about the project:

Mr. Smith how did you get so much support for your efforts today?

[Tony] I honestly don't know. Most of it happened today, just by people walking up and seeing what we were doing. The mall agreed to let us have the space for the day. Gilmore Automotive agreed to do most of the painting of the chairs with the help of some students. And at noon we started with about 20 kids to help re-assemble the chairs. What you see now is just beyond what we imagined.

[Reporter] And in your mind what's this all about?

[Tony] It's about the kids. If you are a kid, in a hospital, and someone is putting you in a wheelchair, well, as a kid you are probably not having a good day. The whole point is to hopefully bring a smile to a face that really doesn't have a better reason to smile just then. That's what it's all about.

[Reporter] And there you have it. The actual work was done an hour ago, but the band has stayed to play, and the workers and just passers-by have stayed to celebrate a job well done. From Southside Mall, this is Marcia Higgins, 7-Alive News.

The band finished up the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic 'Down on the Corner'. Unlike the girl in the Billy Joel song, Tony decided he'd really like to meet the Poorboys, if they actually existed. He turned to his microphone and said, "We really need to wrap this up." The actual building of the chairs had finished over an hour before and the event had turned into an impromptu street party at the mall with the band at its center. No one seemed to mind, but the band was rapidly running out of material they thought appropriate to play at a shopping mall. Besides, it was already past 5 o'clock and the mall would close at 6 PM on Sunday.