—by Barbara Fischer

It was New Year’s Eve, 2019. I was wearing a decent face of makeup in anticipation of going out for the evening, and by “going out,” I mean going to a church event. I was wearing some great high-wasted, super-flared jeans. They were too long for me, so I cuffed them.

I was ready early, so I decided to record some videos of my playing while I waited to leave. The last video I recorded in that session (you’ll see why) was the song “Memory” from Cats. With all the hype surrounding the movie that had just come out, I thought it might be a good pick for my YouTube channel.

Of course Frances, my cat, had to be in the video. I finished recording the song, and as I got up from my harp to get Fran for the outro, my pants leg (remember those great jeans I mentioned earlier?) got caught on the A pedal, folded it up, and down I went.

This would have been fun enough on its own, but it got better. My forehead met with the edge of a glass box sitting next to my harp. I grabbed a t-shirt that was within reach and held it to my head. It was bleeding, and I prefer to keep blood inside my body. I was quickly able to bandage it up without a visit to the hospital, where my story would have likely been met with a healthy dose of skepticism from someone all dressed up for a night out on New Year’s Eve.

The harp was fine.

I didn’t end up going to the party and instead rang in 2020 sporting a chic bandage on my head. I don’t think Frances cared, other than probably being glad that I stayed home. Luckily there was no lasting damage to my head or my harp, and it sure made for a great memory. •

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You can watch Fischer’s pre-fall video of “Memory” at fischarper.com/memory.