Klarinet Archive - Posting 000119.txt from 2000/07

From: "W. Edinger" <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] pre-performance self-mutilation
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 16:55:31 -0400

This doesn't quite qualify for _self_-mutilation, but it's a sort of
anniversary of something close.
Last year our community band had the opportunity to perform an
open-air concert in a very nice amphitheater in the most affluent part
of town, and it represented a great publicity opportunity, so it was
important for everyone to be there and to give a good performance.
Unfortunately, at 1:30 PM on the Saturday afternoon before the concert,
as my wife was driving with me in the passenger (a.k.a. "death") seat,
we were hit head-on by a drunk (0.28%!) driver, totalling both cars and
causing severe impact trauma on my chest by the seat belt (and both cars
had air-bags, which prevented me from being launched like a rocket
through the windshield). I could barely breathe, and the bruises showed
why. Just taking a breath was a painful struggle, and I was sure I
wouldn't be able to play that night. Happily, I found that taking and
holding a breath as you do in playing actually significantly helped my
ability to breathe, and I decided I could maybe pull it off. My playing
was less than Sterling, but it worked out OK, and the playing probably
helped my recovery. I had trouble sleeping (from the pain) for the next
two weeks, but we got a decent settlement and a new car out of it. This
occurred just six weeks after I had part of my colon removed, which also
had put a dent in my ability to practice. '99 was a rough year, man.
Tomorrow night (July 4) is this year's outdoor concert in the same
park, and I think I'm going to avoid riding in or driving a car if
possible, at least until the concert is over.

Bill Edinger

________
"Music and wine are one." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org