Klarinet Archive - Posting 000154.txt from 1994/12

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Playing the opera gives one the crabs
Date: Sat, 10 Dec 1994 15:06:53 -0500

It may sound vulgar but that is apparently exactly what is happening
to my colleagues at the San Francisco opera. According to a notice in
both the San Francisco Chronicle as well as the local TV for the last
two evenings, the orchestra pit at the SF Opera has become infested with
a mite called "scabies," an infestation not dissimilar to body lice or
the dreaded genital infestation commonly called "the crabs." A number
of the players have come down with serious infections that required
application of body lotions over an extended period of time, the treatment
of clothing, and additional steps to avoid reinfestation by eggs or
through reinfection in the pit itself.

Clark Fobes who is much more knowledgeable than I about this since he
plays there this season, might post greater detail. I was called about
a month ago to play a single rehearsal but I could not do it, and now,
having heard the news, I am kind of glad that I didn't make the gig.

I suspect that this thing, like most news broadcasts and newpaper descriptions,
is a serious exaggeration. Certainly I hope so. One of the characteristics
of such an infestation is itching so severe that constant scratching injures
the skin and breaks the surface further spreading the infection.

It really is not very funny but it is still hard to keep a straight face.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
====================================