concertina

This weekend I went to a junk shop with Rebecca and her friends Travis and Jesse Jackson(!). There was, on a shelf, the most beautiful black concertina with red detailing. For those of you who don’t know, a concertina is a small instrument in the accordian family. A squeezebox, if you will. I have wanted to learn how to play for oh, I don’t know, ten years or so. Ever since my dad and I went to Ireland together when I was in high school and heard the rich and mournful sounds that drifted from the trad pubs in County Cork. There was a time when my dad checked out the pawn shops and thrift stores in his travels, hoping to find one for me for a birthday or Christmas. After a few years he gave up, and we both sort of forgot. But then on Saturday it all came back to me.
I took the little concertina off the dusty shelf and held it in my hands. It was so light! I tried to play it, and it was remarkably easy. The man behind the counter came around and showed me how to play a very simple melody- mmm bum bum, mmm bum bum, and I could do it! Granted my rhythm was crap, but I’m sure I could get better, right? I was in love. I am still in love. I think about the black box all the time. It cost $300. I do not have $300. It makes no sense for me to buy an instrument that Ido not know how to play for $300. My rent is $350, for heaven’s sake! But… I love it. I think that, unlike my two neglected guitars, I would actually learn how to play it. It feels really natural in my hands. When I move in with Will and Lisa, we could start a wonderful house band! Lisa on harp, Willow on concertina, Will on drums. AJ might get in on the action too with some keyboards. Can you think of a cuter band? I can not.
What should I do, dear readers? Should I spend money I don’t have (oh holy credit card), or just let it go, and buy one someday when I actually have a job? Or should I simply live in Indecision Land until someone else buys it? Should I try to haggle with the shop guy? If so, what is a good price for a concertina? Help!