Kickstarter

"Hi, Whose Glass Piano?"

An illustrated book, in ebook and AUDIO format, a Dr. Seuss-style allegorical story about the eternal spirit of the hopes and dreams in the hearts of people everywhere.

This is a collaborative effort - I'll be looking for artists to draw the characters and scenes portrayed in the book.

I've chosen to write in the Dr. Seuss style of rhyming prose - and to make sure it reads 'family-friendly' ( a difficult task these days ) and doesn't 'name' anyone responsible for diminishing the dream of being able to embrace the freedom of inspiration.

The story of the "Glass Piano" is an allegory symbolizing the outsourcing of American talent and suffocating the entrepreneurial spirit of a new generation.

The ballroom in the center of town, once filled with activity represents the previously productive American manufacturing & technological community. The people of America produced everything they needed and the entrepreneurial spirit was encouraged.

In the story, replacing the real piano with a glass ornament that can't make any sound, symbolizes how American talent and creativity has been outsourced abroad. The music once created by enterprising individuals represents the entrepreneurial spirit that I call "the music of the American Dream". It was the sound of many people working together to create a better life for everyone.

The spirit that characterizes the American Dream will always be the freedoms, the hopes and the dreams in the hearts of people everywhere.

For the townspeople in the "Glass Piano", the ballroom is empty - there is no reason to gather in the ballroom music hall anymore. The music is only a recording now, an old familiar sound that gets played over and over again, reassuring the townspeople that things are as good as they can be for now.

This symbolizes the fact that we are lulled into complacency by TV reality shows, sitcoms, the free press, the computers, the mobile devices and our prescription drugs ( Do you have a pillbox too? ).

So when a new generation discovers the old piano, abandoned to a hill outside of town, they try to make the "music" but they don't know how.

This symbolizes that the entrepreneurial spirit is still alive.

The fact that so few of the older townspeople actually understand the process of how the "music" is composed symbolizes a generation of Americans who simply take for granted what they have been given. All of the things we have and all that we are has been a result of having the freedom to invent new things and stumble through the creative process - without restrictions and controls.

The older generation hardly remembered how the music got played - but there were enough of them who did remember and altogether could at least explain how it worked.

So they cleaned up and tuned the old beat up piano and brought it back to the hall in the center of town. Once the people began to fill the ballroom, to make more room for everybody, they sent the ornamental glass replacement piano out to the hill.

The "music" from the new beginner entrepreneurs didn't sound very inspiring at first but -

In the end, the older people were wise enough to allow the younger generation the freedom of discovery to invent their own composition their own way...

and inspiration began flourishing again.

The character Mr. Go Figger, when consulted about how long it might take for the "music" and the excitement to be in their lives again, responds:

"For the music to play there will be a delay", said Mr. Go Figger for now,
"Unless you can figger out some sort of way to get that piano here NOW!"

How the old piano eventually arrives at the music hall is the fascinating and really cool part of the story.

"Whose Glass Piano?" is a message of hope. If you help me to share it, that hope will bloom in the hearts of people everywhere.

I will use the submitted pledges to engage the artists to draw the characters, promote this project ( lots of web advertising ), engage courageous people ( lots of social networking ), and challenge people everywhere to embrace the freedom of inspiration and composition!

Thank you for your contribution. Check out the rewards section.

In Trust,

Matt

P.S. The image of the Glass Piano is an actual hand blown glass piano figurine created by Kevin Prochaska. Contact me for details.