Bullies smash girl's violin. But that's not why she's crying.

February 29, 2012 at 10:41 PM · Simon McHugh is not only a nice human being, he is an artist with his work.

February 29, 2012 at 11:10 PM · I bought a bow from Simon about 10 years ago for about $350. That bow plays like a bow 4times as expensive! He's a great person!

February 29, 2012 at 11:27 PM · Touched my heart. What a wonderful thing. Simon is so nice, that proves that there are still good people out here :)

March 1, 2012 at 02:04 AM · Somebody hunt down that bully and make him taste pain like he's never even imagined.

It's because of jerks like this that some of us have to go out and insure everything, including hands.

I was bullied in Jr High and for this very reason, I never brought my violin to school. My mother always dropped it off after class. There were still morons who tried to bully me by stepping on my hands.

Good grief.

March 1, 2012 at 04:26 AM · Now now. Remember, this is why we have insurance companies, lawyers, courts, and prisons.

March 1, 2012 at 04:39 PM · Thank goodness for the way this turned out.

However, I notice, at this writing, about a half-dozen occurrences in the thread of the words "bully," "bullies," "bullied" -- counting the thread title, summary, and all replies so far. Yet the Wichita Eagle article itself doesn't mention a bully or bullies at all.

The case sounds to me more like one of vandalism or malicious destruction. Who's involved? It could have been another kid at school -- or a group of them -- an escaped convict, a wayward toddler, a dog on the loose -- who knows? Until someone can pin down who -- or what -- actually broke the instrument and determine a motive, the jury is still out on whether or not this fits within the definitions of bullying.

Sorry to nit-pick; but the former trial juror in me kicks in once again.

March 1, 2012 at 09:34 PM · "someone had taken the violin out of its case and smashed it to pieces."

Would be a very clever dog or toddler. Sorry - it seems it was rather deliberate and pre-meditated.

March 1, 2012 at 10:10 PM · "Sorry - it seems it was rather deliberate and pre-meditated."

Quite possibly -- but we don't know from the evidence given in the article. No mention of eyewitnesses. Dogs and toddlers can be very destructive -- without being clever. If the case was unlocked, one of these little creatures could get in without much trouble. Those who have pets and kids could no doubt fill this page with accounts of prized possessions damaged or destroyed by prying little hands and paws.

Or -- who knows? -- someone's pickup truck could have sideswiped the case and sent it flying into the air at high speed. True, this is speculation on my part -- but again, my point is that we don't have an eyewitness report or hard evidence of who or what caused the destruction. The jury is still out.

March 1, 2012 at 10:47 PM · Yes, until one knows the facts of who did this and under what circumstances, the real story here is one of basic humanity and indeed kindness.

I'd like to think that any of us who share a love of violins and great music - violin makers, composers, students, teachers, professionals, amateurs like me, musicians of any instrument, listeners, even (dare I say it) singers - are touched by the ennobling qualities inherent in this great art.

When this shows itself in other ways, as in this event, how can you not feel good about it.

March 4, 2012 at 02:09 AM · What a great story. Thanks for the link.

Dogs, toddlers, pickup truck? The last would defy some laws of physics. I'd say instead of relying on the fact that kids can be extremely cruel we'll blame it on bigfoot as proof of his existence. He didn't leave any droppings but the violin was destroyed.

( sorry, tongue and cheek humor..not a slam. couldn't help myself.)

March 4, 2012 at 03:05 AM · "Dogs, toddlers, pickup truck? The last would defy some laws of physics."

Could you elaborate a bit?

March 4, 2012 at 04:48 AM · She said she left it on the ground. Most kids don't stand in the middle of the street. Therefore the truck would have to have been off road when hitting the case without leaving tracks or hitting anything else. I think a vehicle leaving the road on school property would have merited a different story all together. Yes we don't know if she set the case down to get into the vehicle. Nor is there any evidence given she was still on school property. But because she didn't state that both the case and violin were damaged we'd have to assume the truck was able to open the case.

and speaking of cases, this was taken from public records of an actual case,

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Because no one here has any way of gathering all the facts making an argument out of what happened shouldn't be taken seriously. Take the story as is and it's a great show of human kindness. It doesn't happen every day. Enjoy it when it does.