Im jamie colby, driving today through the blue Ridge Mountains of Western North carolina. Cherokee and catawba indians lived here as far back as the last ice age. Ive come, because a viewer wrote to me about a strange inheritance related to those, and other native american tribes. My name is Jerry Williams. My friend moon left me hundreds of thousands of indian arrowheads. He made me swear to keep them together. Ive been trying to do just that. Hi, jerry. Im jamie colby. Glad to meet you. Come on in. Nice to be here. Jerry tells me that the story of the 1 4million arrowheads he inherited begins on a summers day, back in the 1930s, with two lovers, moon mullins and his fiancee irene cress. The day before they got married, they were skipping rocks across the river. But irene said, what are these . They dont look like rocks. They realized the skipping stones arent stone at all. He said, oh, honey, thats indian arrowheads. Irene is instantly fascinated with the ancient relics. She said, i think ill start collecting these, and it just caught on. The newlyweds have a new hobby, one theyll pursue passionately through their 40plus years of marriage. Theyll also collect lifelong friends among the fellow arrowhead enthusiasts they meet, like our heir jerry, whos partnative american, and this man, Wayne Underwood. He said, if we get in a little fuss, then we just go arrowhead hunting. And some days, theyd go and hunt all day long. They just loved life, and they loved spending it together. At the time, arrowheads are common in these parts, scattered like shells on a beach. Just about anyplace you go, native americans have been there, and you can usually find something if youll be patient and hunt for it. Oh, gosh, we went to south carolina, North Carolina, virginia, tennessee. We went everywhere. It was so much fun to go out and be together all the time. Sounds like you became family. They were just like grandparents, really. My dads mother and father died when i was three. And it was just like it was meant to be. Over the years, moon and irene find their biggest hauls on farms, fertile land where tribes may have raised crops themselves, and built villages, leaving behind a long, hidden stash of treasures. On a real good day, they might find 2,000 pieces. He said, its just like the indian people is wanting me to find their relics. Moon and irene add arrowheads from mississippi, georgia, and texas, 20 states in all, as their collection grows to 100,000 arrowheads, then 200,000, and more. The couple display their ancient finds in their home. He had it set up beautifully. He made all his frames, cut all the glass. Irene put cotton and the material, and formed the designs on the arrowheads. It was amazing. The mullins collection is breathtaking. Youre just overtaken by the number of arrowheads. Joe candio is a native american historian, and member of the pascua yaqui tribe. It certainly surpasses anything that ive ever seen, as far as a private collection. The majority of them do associate themselves with the precolumbian time. Check out this one. Its made from volcanic glass, often used in battle, and its more than 10,000 years old. This ones even older, dating back more than 12,000 years. Its Groove Center is crafted to make the arrowhead better able to withstand the shock of colliding with a hard object, like the bone of a large animal. Sometimes associated with the large mastodons that were living on the north american continent. Its quite rare to find Something Like this. Its just the most amazing collection id ever seen. In fact, when Wayne Underwood first sees the mullins collection, he immediately wants it for a roadside attraction called mystery hill that he runs in nearby blowing rock, North Carolina. Heres all these pieces that were just unique. The history behind each one of em, i mean, what did that one piece do . Was it a tool . Was it used for a weapon . Was it a ceremonial piece . Hes not the first to try to get the mullins to part with it, or the last. Moon and irene had an opportunity to sell this exhibit to john wayne. Excuse me . Heres a strange inheritance quiz question for you. Native americans attached bird feathers, often from turkeys or hawks, to arrows, for what purpose . Camouflage the shooter, balance the arrow, or stake a claim to the kill . The answer after the break. Look into my eyes you will see what you mean to me dont tell me its not worth trying for you know its true everything i do i do it for you so, what purpose did bird feathers serve on native american arrows . Its, b, the feathers balanced the weight of the arrowhead, allowing the arrow itself to spin in flight, and produce an ideal trajectory. Its a hobby that randy moon mullins and his wife irene began as newlyweds. Halfacentury later, theyve collected 1 4ofamillion indian arrowheads from all across america. They were looking at the largest privatelyowned collection east of the mississippi. I mean, its amazing. The couple display their finest relics in a makeshift museum in their hickory, North Carolina home. Boy scout groups, Church People come in, and see what he collected. It was an honor. Inevitably, word of the collection spreads well beyond hickory. Moon and irene had an opportunity to sell this exhibit to john wayne. Excuse me . John wayne came to look at the exhibit . Yeah. But moon asked him, will you keep it all together . , he says, no, and moon wouldnt sell it to him, because he knew it was going to be split up. According to underwood, the duke wasnt the last offer moon received. One was for halfamillion bucks. He turned down 500,000 . Yes. That sounds perfectly reasonable to American Indian historian joe candio. The collection certainly is extremely valuable. Youre seeing a lot of just pristine, perfect arrowpoints. On the low end, these intact arrowheads could run from 5 to 15bucks apiece. As you go back in time, typically an arrowhead becomes more valuable. Some of the oldest points, my goodness, i have seen those go anywhere from 500to 2,000. 5 bucks here, 1,000 bucks there the value of the 250,000 arrowheads adds up quickly. Do you think its worth 1 million . Oh, its probably worth more than that. Did moon ever sell any of them . No, he wouldnt sell em. To him, it was worth more than money, to see you or anyone else come there and look at it, and say, how did you do this . This much is certain its not getting any easier. In 1978, moon is diagnosed with severe diabetes. The 72 year old has to have his left leg amputated. Did that stop him from going out and looking . Oh, no. Moon was the type of fella thatd get up in the morning with a smile on his face. Moon just throws on his prosthetic leg, and off he goes with irene, hunting more arrowheads. It come like an obsession. It was just like a great hobby, and he loved it. Then in 1979, a new federal law makes it illegal to take arrowheads from public land. Of course, by then, most of the prime areas are already combed over anyway, so its unlikely anyone could duplicate moon and irenes achievement today. Then, in 1982, moons arrowhead collecting partner of more than 40 years, irene, passes away in her sleep at the age of 69. Moon said, my world just turned upside down. He loved her to death. Moon closes his arrowhead display to the public. Over the next few years, his own health declines. In 1985, he reaches out to his dear friend Jerry Williams for help. He said, would you come up and take care of me til i die . Because i dont want to go to a resthome. cause if i do, ill have to do something with the museum. He didnt want to lose it. Was that moons biggest fear . Yes. Jerry, whos in his 30s and recently married, convinces his wife they need to move in with moon to provide fulltime care. Whyd you agree to do it . I couldnt turn him down. He was just like a grandparent. I couldnt abandon him. The doctor even told me, i dont think hes got that much longer to live. Moon starts getting his affairs in order. He said, youre going to be inheriting my collection. Youre native american, and i think youll do the right thing. What did he tell you would be right for you to do . He said, he knew that i would share it with the people. I said, well, thats your wish, i said, im going to hold to it. I said, i love you to death for doing this. I mean, why did he want to give it to me . I mean, [ laughs ], he couldve given it to anybody, you know . But he picked you. He picked me. Yes. Moon updates his will, leaving jerry his rare and valuable stash of arrowheads, and his house and property. But under jerrys care, he hangs on longer than his doctors predicted. Moon ultimately succumbs to Heart Disease in may 1987, two years after jerry moved in. He died right in my hands in 87. [ crying ] and. He just said, thank you. I mean. I cant. Just beautiful. Just beautiful. You loved him so much. Yes. His close friend is gone, and jerry wants to honor him by reopening moons arrowhead museum. I went to the city, but the property wasnt fit to meet the codes. And he said that it would probably cost you 50,000. Did you have 50,000 . No. No, we didnt have any money. So, the enormous arrowhead collection just sits in the dark for the next decade. I did nothing with it. Its killing me. Because i wanted you know, i wanted to share it. Did you feel like you were letting moon down . Yes, i did. Then things go from bad to worse. They finally called us and said, were going to have to take your property. What was the problem . The state was building a new highway right through the middle of the museum, and they had no place to move the museum to. So, Wayne Underwood has a brainstorm. I didnt have the money, but i had an opportunity to sell a ticket. This strange inheritance story is about to get downright weird. [ laughs ] heres another quiz question for you. Threeofthefollowingfour english words come from native american languages. Which one doesnt . The answer when we return. Voiceover is there a danger hiding in your home . Unused opioid medicines could harm your family. Find your unused opioid pills, patches, or syrups, and learn how to dispose of them safely at fda. Gov drugdisposal so, which of the following words does not come from a native american language . Its, d, the word bison comes from latin. The rest are all borrowed native american words. Jerry williams inherits a vast and valuable collection of ancient indian arrowheads from his good friend randy moon mullins, and vows to keep it together. But theres a problem. The state of North Carolina is planning on running a new highway through the house that contains the artifacts. And people would not potentially see the collection ever again. No. How difficult was that for you to take . Well, that was real difficult. He turns to Wayne Underwood, another longtime friend of moon, whos longcoveted the collection. When moon passed away, i said a prayer. Lord, im not going to get involved with the politics of the inheritance, so if its meant to be that we have it, im just leaving it up to you. 10 years after that, Jerry Williams called me. Without hesitation, wayne offers to buy moons collection from jerry. I said, jerry, would you sell the exhibit . , and he said, yes, and told me what the price was. What was it . 300,000. A sweetheart deal for a collection some say is valued at more than 1 million, but jerry trusts wayne to keep the arrowheads together. Theres just one tiny little problem. I didnt have 300,000. Oh, thats an issue. But what i had was, i had an opportunity to sell a ticket. A ticket to one of the most bizarre Roadside Attractions youll ever see here in blowing rock, North Carolina. Its called mystery hill, and wayne owns it. Its an unusual place thats on a vortex area. Its like there was a gravitational pull to it. The hill in infamous for these gravitational anomalies. [ laughs ]. And strange phenomenon. Ooh, my head. Seriously. Yeah, grab ahold of the rail there, just a minute, til you sort of get used to it. As i walk inside, my balance and senses are instantly thrown for a loop. Okay, you look really funny. [ laughs ] in this house, the laws of gravity appear to not hold up. All your life, youve been taught water runs downhill. Ima pour water in the low end of the pipe. Goes out the high end. This is a trick house. Its all crazy. Objects seem to roll the wrong way, too. Can you see it . Why would it go up . Everyone has their own suspicions as to why gravity misbehaves here. Some claim theres a large Mineral Deposit below the house. In theory, the dense rock could create an unusually strong gravitational pull. Its just one of those things youve got to experience for yourself, and make up your own mind. Okay its a funhouse. It is a funhouse. A funhouse that wayne thinks would be even more fun with an exhibit of native american relics, so he comes up with a clever counteroffer. I said, jerry, heres the deal. If we move the collection to mystery hill, every time we sell a ticket, you and your wife will receive 1. When it reaches 300,000, the exhibit will belong to the museum, but you and your wife will continue to get your 1. What did jerry say . What was his reaction . He said, i like the idea. For awhile, anyway, but 300,000 tickets turns out to be awful lot to sell. Is waynes idea a big bust . I said, what are we going to do . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website. One in three hundred and sixtyfive African Americans battle sickle cell disease. I was one of them. Life back then was painful; i was in and out of the hospital and had frequent pain crises. A blood stem cell transplant is the only cure for sickle cell disease. I was fortunate to find a Perfect Match in my younger sister, but many patients do not have a compatible donor in their families and black patients have only a twentythree percent chance of finding an unrelated donor. More black donors are urgently needed to help save lives. It only takes a simple cheek swab to join the be the match registry. Learn more about becoming a donor and access free patient resources by visiting end sickle cell dot org today. You or someone you know could be the cure for a patient battling sickle cell, like me. Look into my eyes you will see what you mean to me dont tell me its not worth trying for you know its true everything i do i do it for you yeah, i would fight for you id lie for you walk the wire for you yeah, id die for you you know its true everything i do i do it for you now, back to strange inheritance. Jerry williams agrees to sell his strange inheritance, a 1 4million ancient arrowheads to North Carolina roadside attraction owner Wayne Underwood. Its a Risky Business deal. 300,000 for the relics paid off 1 at a time. I offered to pay him 1 out of each one of those tickets, so wed buy it over time. In the summer of 1997, wayne opens his new native American Artifacts Museum at mystery hill, and today, i get a personal tour. No way . Its one case after another. Theres so much history in this room. Years and years and years of history. And it all started with one arrowhead. This is the first board that they collected shortly after they got married. I just cant even imagine how many hours it would take to put a collection like this together. Theres no denying its oneofakind, but would it really draw hundreds of thousands of paying customers . Did you have expectations of even earning 300,000 in admission for them . Eventually. The first few years, wayne sells around 20,000 tickets a year, and jerry and his wife get 20 grand in royalties, a nice, little income. That trend continues for several more years, until the Great Recession hits. Attendance at mystery hill tumbles. Some months, the royalty checks are as little as a couple of hundred bucks. Was jerry wrong to put his trust in wayne . I said, what are we going to do . But by 2012, things rebound along with the checks. In january 2016, the total surpasses that 300,000 threshold, and remember, the payments arent done yet. The deal states the couple continue to get 1 a ticket forever. How much have they gotten above 300,000 do you think . Its going to be right at 400,000. So, jerrys smiling. Oh, yeah. Is moon smiling . Yeah, moons smiling and irene, too. Yeah, because its still together. All the hard work and all the time that they spent together, that exhibit is still being seen by people every single day. What does it feel like to be in that room . It brings a lot of memories. When youre around somebody that long and collected with them, theres this burn in your heart. Ancient peoples leave behind valuable pieces of history. Thousands of years later, an accidental discovery kickstarts a lifelong passion. And now, two proud custodians are making sure the relics are never hidden from view again. Were going to take care of it, and share it with as many people as we can share it with. Its just like it was godsent. It was meant to be there. Wayne now wants a new showcase for the indian relics, so right on site at mystery hill, he plans to build the moon and Irene Mullins collection. It will also feature workshops on traditional native american skills, including, of course, arrowhead making. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. And remember, you cant take it with you. [ gongs chiming ] its a strange inheritance gong show. And this is the set of gongs. The very set . [ gongs chiming ] a piece of history. You want to liken it to a stradivarius except theres only one set of true puccini gongs. A musical mystery. How the heck did they end up in a warehouse in queens . [ drumroll plays ] but drumroll, please. [ castanets clicking musically ] can she strike a deal to fund her husbands dying wish . Are you hoping that someone will see them and say, heres a check . You Better Believe it. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, heading into the town of hastingsonhudson, new york, a suburb about 18 miles north of manhattan. Im on my way to meet a woman who wrote to me about her strange inheritance a piece of musical history with the most improbable tale of how she came to own it. My names Marlene Piturro. When my husband died, he left me a musical treasure along with clear marching orders on what he wanted done with it. [ gongs chiming ] hi, marlene. Hi, jamie. Come on in. Its so nice to meet you. As we settle in, marlene tells me about her harmonious first meeting with her husband, howard, a concert percussionist. It was love at first sight. Really . He was 63, and he had these twinkly blue eyes. He went to work every day in his gig suit and his tuxedo with his white shirt and bow tie. Howard van hyning, born in 1936 in central florida, inherits an interest in percussion from his greatgrandfather, a drummer boy in the civil war. Howard had his drumsticks, and he practiced quite a bit, mostly with his drum pad in his bedroom, thank goodness. Howard joins the drumline in high school, and at just 15 lands a spot in the orlando symphony orchestra. He was the youngest percussionist that they had, and he did very well. So well that after high school, howard heads to the renowned Juilliard School of music in new york city. There he adds to his skill set by mastering a variety of drums and buying them up whenever he can. Not just drums, but anything that you hit xylophones, bells anything that was a percussiontype instrument. Most percussionists are, to some extent, collectors. Greg zuber, lead percussionist with new yorks metropolitan opera. Percussionists end up in charge of all kinds of instruments snare drums, cymbals, timpani. It happens that percussion is my favorite part of any orchestra. Well, youre a woman of refinement and taste. I would like to learn something percussiony. Absolutely. Lets go do it. We start with the tambourines. Its simple to play. You just tap it. [ tambourine jingling ]. Like that. No, greg. Sorry to disappoint you, but ive seen these played. Yeah . [ tambourine jingling ] well, thats more like the gospel church, but maybe we should switch to castanets. Okay, ready . And. [ castanets clicking musically ] thats a good start. Now its time for the bass drum. So think about using your whole arm. [ bass drum resonates ] great. I love the sound of this. Are you busy tuesday . I might be needing a player. You get to do this for a living . I get to do this. I get to play with these toys. And so does howard. He graduates from juilliard in 1966 and begins to perform with the new york city opera. Its not a little deal to be part of the new york city opera. Absolutely not. In 1975, howard takes on a prestigious summer gig in central park. On the calendar, turandot, an opera written in 1924 by Giacomo Puccini. Now, even if youre no opera buff, you probably heard the most famous part of turandot, says fred plotkin, author of opera 101. People recognize that its been in an number of films. It was in mission impossible, starring tom cruise. Oh, and the sum of all fears and the mirror has two faces, among others. So we know it very well. Its a percussionist dream. There are tamtams, tubular bells, glockenspiel, and, most crucially, several differentsized gongs. [ gong chimes ] its set in ancient mythical china, and puccini wanted to convey mystery. I wont get into the plot right now, but those gongs are really important to the story. So when puccinis writing the opera, he looks all over italy for just the right gongs. No luck. Then he does what any perfectionist would. Puccini had gongs manufactured specifically for turandot so that he could have those ethereal chinese sounds that he heard in his head, but had not necessarily seen an instrument to produce. A halfcentury later and half a world away, Howard Van Hyning harbors the same perfectionist streak. Preparing for his big moment in central park, he searches for a set of gongs worthy of puccinis masterpiece. Turns out howard doesnt have to look far just across the east river from manhattan to the humble outer borough made famous by the new york mets, archie bunker, and kevin james. How they heck did they end up in a warehouse in queens . Everything ends up in a warehouse in queens. But first our strange inheritance quiz question. The answer after the break. Way to let your kids have fun and learn a skill that can save their life. Swim lessons, woo sadly, drowning takes too many young lives, but, its preventable and studies show that lessons reduced that risk by 88 . So, go to usaswimmingfoundation. Org and enroll your child today. I learned how to swim. The usa swimming foundation, saving lives and building champions. When you think of miami you think of,you know,rich,glamour but 5 miles away from the beach theres people who have never seen a beach. I was confused why somebody was in this situation especially in america. Music oooh,oooh,oooh so when i started joshuas Heart Foundation it was a key thing to be able to engage youth in the foundation. To help them participate. Music oooh,oooh,oooh i think passing on the torch and lighting a new flame in another person to do good is probably the point of the Bigger Missions i have. Music aha,aha,aha so we are each making a bigger difference. Music oooh,oooh,oooh thats it just giving back and producing love for everybody. So, which of these three bands had the most drummers . Well, nirvana had six drummers through the years. That beats pearl jams five. But if you count the fictional heavymetal group spinal tap, it had as many as a dozen, some of whom died of spontaneous human combustion. [ singing operatically ] you dont need to know a lot about opera to appreciate the strangeness of the inheritance Marlene Piturro gets from her husband, Howard Van Hyning. But a little bit of knowledge cant hurt. So lets go back to lucca, italy, 1924. Maestro Giacomo Puccini is composing the second act of his masterpiece turandot. Turandot is a princess. Shes beautiful, of course. She does not want to marry anyone because her ancient relative had bad luck with men. So she tells three riddles, and if you can answer the riddles, then you get to marry turandot. If you dont answer the riddles, you lose your head. Off with you. Yeah. Its a brutal story. [ gong chimes ] when each suitor arrives at the palace, he bangs a bronze gong. But puccini cant find gongs that make the sounds he wants, so he commissions a family of cymbal makers in italy to handcraft them. The great composers like puccini often had instruments manufactured to produce sounds that did not exist before. His precise gongs are completed, but puccini dies in 1924 before finishing his masterpiece. How many famous operas are there that are unfinished . Very few, and the most famous of all is turandot by puccini. A ringer named Franco Alfano finishes turandot based on puccinis notes, and it becomes one of the most performed operas from sydney to cincinnati, where, fatefully, in 1955. [ gong chimes ]. A production is being directed by new Yorker Anthony stivanello, whose nickname is instant opera. He had the nickname instant opera cause he could produce an opera literally in an instant. He may be quick, but he aint sloppy, and theres something about his cincinnati turandot thats just not right. Guess. He was unhappy with the sound of the gongs. The gongs. The clanging in anthonys ears never stops, and years later on a trip to italy, he looks for something better. Instant opera hits the instant lottery at the office of puccinis publisher. My father found that the publisher ricordi had the actual gongs they had specially made that puccini wanted in the production. Its a startling find. You want to liken it to playing a stradivarius except theres only one set of true puccini gongs. So my father, being a colorful figure, started playing cards with ricordi, and he talked him into having a bet, and he won the gongs. And takes them home to queens. Now we can return to the summer of 1975, when Howard Van Hyning gets hired for a turandot production in central park. Howard already has a collection of more than 1,000 percussion instruments, but no gongs that are right for turandot. Then he gets a tip that puccinis own custommade gongs are in the stivanello shop in queens and may be available to rent. Howard said, ive got to see them. Ive got to see them. Anthony leads him into the back of his shop, pries open a dusty crate, and reveals 13 heavy bronze gongs, one note of the musical scale on each gong in italian. For howard, got to see turns to got to have in a new york minute. No doubt in your mind theyre the real deal . Theres no doubt of anybody who really knows about opera that they are the original set of puccinis gongs. Howard almost cant bring himself to return the puccini gongs after the central park rental. He just kept asking my father, hey, if you ever sell them, do you promise to sell them to me . His desire doesnt wane even after he claims his own princess in 1982 from the city opera audience. I came back from the intermission, and my friend said, these two guys have asked us out for a drink after the show. Howard and i locked eyes, and he said, ill take the little one. Howard and the little one soon marry and have two children. All the while, howard adds to his stockpile of percussion instruments. He started with one room. It grew to six rooms, and he had a whole room of just timpani shells, huge kettle drums, and the mallet instruments were everywhere. Then one day howard walks in the door of their home in suburban new york with a big announcement. He came home with a burlap bag, and he said, look what i have, and he dumped out a few of the gongs. How much did he pay for them . 8,000. And do you say, holy glockenspiel. The kids need to go to college . I was speechless. Luckily for howard, his operaloving wife learns to appreciate the gongs as much as he does. And theyre very special, and ill show you why. Im going to play first a regular gong, which sounds pretty good, and this is onstage all the time. [ gong chiming ] sounds pretty good. Yeah, pretty good to me. But here is the puccini gongs. [ lowpitch chime resonating ] [ gasps ] its extremely resonant. And thats the sound that he wanted. Would you like to try one . Ill give it a whirl. [ highpitch chime resonating ] perfect. Howard plays the puccini gongs in operas all over the country, showing them off for music experts everywhere. In 1991, he even has one of the gongs signed by legendary opera singer luciano pavarotti. I see his signature. Yep, there it is. Howard continues to play with the new york city opera into his 60s. Then in 2001, he notices a change. He said, my hands are not right. My playing is not right. An mri confirms that howards in the early stages of parkinsons disease, a disorder of the nervous system that often causes tremors. For a musician, that is devastating. It was devastating for him. Howard fights the disease and keeps playing until 2009. The following year, he dies of cardiac arrest. Hes 74 years old. Hes buried with his sticks. Really . I knew that when he got to heaven, hed be able to play. But before howard departs, he leaves marlene not only a piece of musical history. [ sighs ] we talked before he died. He would like two things to happen. He asks her to set history straight. Its a big responsibility. Its a big responsibility. Heres another quiz question. The answer when we return. Woo drowning takes too many young lives. But, its totally preventable. Swim lessons. Studies show that lessons reduced that risk by 88 . Go to usaswimmingfoundation. Org and enroll your child today. So, what hit Broadway Musical was adapted from puccinis opera la boheme . Its rent, a tale about a group of bohemians living in the east village of new york city. Something about puccinis opera turandot always irked renowned percussionist Howard Van Hyning. Remember, puccini dies in 1924 before finishing his masterpiece, and another composer, Franco Alfano, is hired to complete it. Does alfano get it right . Theres no way of knowing. For howard, it was all about the gongs puccini obsessed over. Theyre prominent throughout his opera, but alfanos ending hardly features them at all. Its a jarring transition from when puccini wrote his last note. Howard, whose most prized possession was puccinis custommade gongs, had one dying wish for his wife, marlene fix turandot by selling the gongs for enough money to commission a new ending for the opera. Tall order. Howard bought the gongs in 1983 for 8,000, and marlene had them appraised in 2010 for, she says, 100 grand still not enough to get a firstrate composer to write a new turandot ending. Whats your price . I think that theyre worth between 1 million and 2 million. Nothing like this has ever been sold. [ gong chimes resonating ] think theyre worth 1 million . [ chuckles ] well, you can hope. Im not sure about that. Greg zuber, the mets current lead percussionist, who we met earlier, chimes in. It sounds to me like puccini had to have these gongs. He absolutely needed them for the right flavor of the opera to suggest china in its ancient setting. [ gong chimes resonating ] just like that. Just like that. Spectacular. Marlene thinks theyre spectacular, too, and wants them heard and appreciated. While waiting for a buyer to step up, she rents them to opera houses where theyre a big draw. Howard would want them to be played, and i did rent them out. Until 2011 when she gets a frantic call about her strange inheritance. What happened . Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. My twin brother jacob has an Autism Spectrum Disorder i remember one moment after being at school all day and i remember him getting into the car just balling. And saying mom, i have no friends why dont i have any friends . It broke my heart. Brother let me be your shelter never leave you all alone that was the moment when i realized that i needed to do something about this. I needed to make a difference in his life. Go and i knew that if i could help him find a friend, i could help teach other people that including people with differences is the right thing to do. Bring it home brother let me be your shelter that was the inspiration behind my nonprofit score a friend educating people to include the people with differences is so important because when jacobs included he feels like he can succeed in life and he feels like he actually has a purpose. Home i met a new friend. Its great to meet someone. Who really understands. She lost her dad last year. I really miss you mom. Taps, the Tragedy Assistance Program for survivors provides resources, support and comfort to heal the harts of grieving military families. Help us at taps. Org family. Now back to strange inheritance. Its 2011, and Marlene Piturro is terrified about her strange inheritance a rare set of percussion gongs that trace back to renowned opera composer Giacomo Puccini. What happened . We were renting them, and they were lost in transit. Oh, my. The National Carrier who was doing this couldnt find them. For three awful days no word. Then she gets a call. It turned out that they were in newark for three days, and when we finally knew where they were, they went on to their ultimate destination. Phew [ chuckles ] the mishap forces marlene to change her tune and stop renting out the gongs. Howard was more than willing to send them. He loved that they could go to different opera houses, but i feel i cant take that risk. So marlene tucks them away, unseen, unheard, and with each passing year, increasingly forgotten by the opera world. Shes still hoping to find a way to do as howard wanted sell them to a musician or Opera Company and commission a new ending to Puccinis Turandot that features the gongs. Its a big responsibility. Its a big responsibility, and im not the best person to have them. They belong in an opera house. Then in 2016, music director Antony Walker of the pittsburgh opera hears tale of how Howard Van Hynings widow has puccinis gongs hidden away in a trunk. We were very excited to hear that the puccini gongs were still around. He implores marlene to lend him the famous gongs for his upcoming production of turandot. Marlene relents, but this time, she has the gongs handdelivered. Were there for the First Official rehearsal. Everyone is amped up over those gongs. It makes it much realer. You can smell and taste and feel this thing. Its not some ancient artifact in mothballs. It resonates, and it gets people very excited. [ gong chimes resonating ] this set is so important because we have the sounds that puccini had in mind, which is really amazing. [ gong chimes resonating ] its like a stradivarius. If you dont play it, whats the point . Puccini heard in these gongs how his music should sound. [ singing operatically ] [ gong chime resonates ] marlene still intends to turn her strange inheritance into a new ending that makes turandot even more of a percussionist dream, just as her husband envisioned. Are you hoping that by sharing your strange inheritance that someone will see them, come along, and say, heres a check . You Better Believe it. [ chuckles ] that would be a wonderful outcome. Whatever happens, this performance would surely be music to her late husbands ears. He had his destiny, and that was to play this music. He loved music, and he loved the gongs. A half dozen other composers have written new endings to turandot, and now one more has tossed his hat in the ring. In march 2017, four days after his 100th birthday, maestro anton coppola, uncle of film director francis ford coppola, conducted a twohour concert in tampa, florida, which included his own alternate ending for turandot, gongs and all. The contest for the perfect ending continues. Im jamie colby. Thanks for watching strange inheritance. And remember you cant take it with you. [ gong chimes resonating ] have a great weekend. Lou dobbs next. Lou President Trump leading the freed world and much of it that isnt. President trump talked with president erdogan, keeping their line of communication open as the ceasefire declared erdogan has now been in effect for almost two days. The president said the two men had a good conversation. Acknowledging reports of new fighting in Northern Syria and insisting the turks and kurds are honoring that ceasefire along the northwestern border with turkey. South of our border in sinaloa, a vicious
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