The Cost of Being a Bass Player

My autistic son plays the bass. He is a very talented musician and loves music. One time he heard some classical music at NASA and they actually sent him a CD of the music that streams through the Space Center. Music fascinates him more than lyrics which tickles me because until him, I never really cared for classical music. I cannot tell you the pride I feel for him when I see him with the rest of the orchestra all dressed in black and white handling that monster of an instrument. Violin players cover the floor but there is always only a handful of bass players. That just makes his skill all the more special to me. We both were happy to find out that bass was recently added to the orchestra in this new school district. At the old school we just wrote a check for $180 and it covered insurance and everything for the entire year because the school owned the bass. Kansas is different. Orchestra isn't that well funded. It will cost me $680 a year to pay for my son's bass rental and an additional $8 monthly to cover insurance. This is the up-front cost too. Otherwise it will be $280 every four months plus $8 for the insurance. So because I do not have the $680 I will end up spending $936 for him to keep that bass year round. I cannot tell my son "no", either. It is one of his few pleasures in life. Please feel sorry for me.