—by Anita Clark Jaynes

As a rule, I don’t accept outdoor gigs, but evidently I had not communicated this to a booking agent who hired me to play for a wedding at a private residence.

When I arrived, I asked the hostess for directions to where I was to set up. She told me to go down the hall, turn left, and go through the French doors. Much to my surprise, the French doors led outside. I thought I must have been mistaken, so I went back and asked. Yes, the wedding was not only outdoors, but the backyard went down a steep hill and the wedding ceremony was at the bottom of it.

Upset but feeling like I had no choice, I wheeled my harp down the hill. The flutist arrived, nine-months pregnant, and clambered down the hill in high heels. There was no platform or sidewalk, and the ground was so uneven that I had to hang onto my harp to keep it from falling over.

We got through the wedding. I was fuming the entire time. But the clincher came afterwards. A couple came up to me and said, “Our daughter has a gold harp like that but she would never play it outdoors!” •