Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer born on April 1, 1873. He was one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Although he struggled through many emotional problems that turned his personality cold and icy, his music still remains some of the warmest and most romantic of all time. This includes his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini the 18th variation. Some people believe it's his most romantic composition with an enigmatic and haunting melody. It may be more haunting than they realize. Now why or how would a guy from a small steel town in Western Pennsylvania know anything about a Russian composer and romantic classical music?

It was the spring of 1977 and I found myself working as a shift supervisor at Orr Plastics in Vandergrift Pennsylvania. It was a far cry from nursing school and the sterile and pristine environment of West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. I started at Orr Plastics as a press operator several months after deciding that being a male nurse wasn't for me. It didn't take me long to work my way into a supervisors position at the plant. There were three supervisors, Tom who just happened to be owner's nephew. Then there was Joe who had just dropped out of college at South Dakota State University, and me. Joe, who also lived in the Vadergrift area and I became friends pretty quickly.

We rotated shifts on a weekly basis. On this particular week I was working the evening shift from four in the afternoon until midnight. I got a call from John the owner of the company early that morning. He asked me if I could come in early that day, around noon. It seems that Joe who was scheduled to work the daylight shift had called off. Tom was going to stay over to cover for him until I made it in at noon. I found it rather odd for Joe to call off. He seemed fine when I saw him yesterday when we changed shifts. I grabbed a bite to eat, got dressed and headed for the plant. When I got to the plant I asked John what was up with Joe. He just shook his head and said that Joe's mom had called and talked to Tom. All she said was that Joe was sick and couldn't make it in today but hopefully he would feel better soon. She felt that Joe would be feeling good enough to come to work the next day.

Tom was glad to see me and after a brief update as to what was going on with the machines and schedule he headed out the door. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I was in the office making up the schedule for the next day when the door flew open. It was about ten o'clock . Joe walked in and sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk from me.

'Hey dude what's happening?' he said as he put his feet up on the desk.

'Not sure you tell me. They called me in early today because you're supposed to be sick. Ya look fine to me ol buddy!'

'Yeah I'm feeling great, but I think that the rest of you guys won't be feeling so good later. Not after I tell John that I quit.'

'Quit!!! What the hell are you talking about?' I asked.

Joe just laughed and shook his head.

'That's where I was today. I flew to Michigan for a job interview. There's a plastics plant outside of Ann Arbor. They're shutting that plant down and opening a brand new one in a place called Alma Michigan. Its state of the art Dude! They are looking for shift supervisors, for all areas. Dude they still have two openings in the injection molding area. You should interview for one!'

'Ok, give me one good reason why I should' I asked.

Joe just laughed and shook his head.

'I'll give you about twenty thousand good reasons.' He said as he stood up and leaned over the desk looking at me.

'They are giving me twenty thousand more bucks than what we're making here plus benefits'

He smiled as he fell back down into the chair. He cocked his head to one side waiting for my reaction.