As you have no doubt concluded, my attitude towards life is optimistic. I wake up each morning and am pleased with another day of living. The latest stories in this blog are testament to this resiliency. I love to laugh, even when I’m the joke. Here is a story of a time when there was nothing to do but laugh.
My friend David owns Expressway Music. If you need a DJ, a karaoke host, a live band, or other event entertainment, give him a call, and drop my name. [http://www.expresswaymusic.com] The reason I mention him is because I worked with him for a while. We did all sorts of events and parties and it was a hoot. One day he had a showcase scheduled. This was an event where different acts would demonstrate their craft and, this time, it was in front of dozens of library event planners.
The stage where everyone performed was small, and had very little off stage room for preparation. While dancers didn’t need much room, bands and other entertainment companies needed to set up. We lugged the electronics up to the stage in order to be ready. I was carrying a large box filled with cables and other electronics. I got to the stairs at the edge of the stage and started up.
Since I was carrying this box in front of me, I couldn’t see when the steps ended, and guessed wrong. I tripped on the last step and went flying forward. I held on tight to the box and landed on the edge of the stage, on top of the box.
That would have been enough to cement this as another ‘Just my luck’ story. However, because I was on the box, and the box was at the edge of the stage, balance became an issue. I teetered there for what seemed like hours, and began to slip off the stage. I recall having the mental picture of Wile E. Coyote being caught off the edge of a cliff. Like that cartoon, I too tried to climb back onto the stage, using sheer will, or maybe it was ‘the force.’ However, gravity won, and I went crashing from the stage to the floor below, some 4-5 feet.
As I landed, on my back, on the floor, I once again experienced the Wile-Effect. After about 2 seconds, probably even less, the box, that was once underneath me, fell from the stage and landed on top of me. So there I lay, stunned and embarrassed and someone in the crowd yelled out, “What do you do for an encore?” People chuckled and I started singing… I often think that’s why so many libraries were interested, they thought the gymnastics was part of the act.