Squeeze away that stress

Everybody knows accordions tickle the ears. But some Connecticut squeezers claim that picking up the ol' stomach Steinway is good for the rest of your body as well.

"I found new life," Bob Vitale, 68, told the Hartford (Conn.) Courant. "I used to have a bad back and a bad stomach and taking Zantac all the time. I used to eat that stuff. But since January, when I started playing again, it all disappeared. I couldn't even pick up a pencil. Now I can pick up a refrigerator. My doctor told me it was all stress. It released all my stress."

Vitale is a former accordion teacher and a member of the Connecticut Accordion Association, an organization founded in 2004 by Marilyn O'Neil. The group is growing by leaps and bounds, with a 22-member accordion orchestra. That's a lot of stress relief!