—by Jill Pitz

Having spent my career playing for various events, I was bound to have a harp malfunction at some point. I arrived early at a restaurant gig to set up and tune. As I began tuning, a disc on a wire string popped off! I quickly finished tuning the rest of the harp while I thought about what I could do about the disc. I decided I could possibly get it back on or at least get it functioning enough to get through the gig if I had the right tool. I snagged the maitre d’ and begged him to bring me a screwdriver as fast as possible.

It didn’t take him long, and he came running into the ballroom with a large screwdriver. A large screwdriver—but the vodka and orange juice kind! While I appreciated his effort, I learned a long time ago that 47 strings and alcohol don’t mix well. Luckily he found the kind of screwdriver I was in need of, I fixed the disc, and the gig ended happily ever after. •