best comment yet

[tony-morosco]

The best comment / question I ever got wasn’t stupid or ignorant at all. It was the most wonderful question anyone ever asked me about the harp.

I was in NYC and had just gone to pick up one of my lever harps from my harp tech. I didn’t have a case for this harp so it was just wrapped in clear plastic. It is a rather light harp because it has a fiberglass body and so I was carrying it basically under my arm down the block where I would be better able to hail a cab to get me to Grand Central to catch a train back home.

As I was waiting at the corner for the light to change a young mother and her little boy were standing next to me. The little boy tugged on his mother’s sleeve and she bent down while he whispered something in her ear.

She turned to me and said, “My son asked if that was a magic harp.”

I looked at the boy and without a moments hesitation said “Yes”.

Then I told him, “I’ll tell you a secret. All harps are magic. It’s just that most are smart enough not to let everyone know or else everyone would want one.”

The boy smiled the biggest smile.

[Sylvia]

It looks like the American Harp Society is somehow linked to Anderson insurance now.
No one else on the forum is an AHS member? That seems odd.
I somehow got lost in the transition when Goodman merged with AJG, but it looks like Anderson is the one we use now?

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Tony,
That is really a sweet, lovely story! As I read your post I have to think if I’ve ever encountered anything as extraordinary as that. Maybe yes but that might be too long, better for a blog post. Anyway, thanks for sharing. Sometimes you have a chance encounter like that that’s very illuminating and you think back to it again over the years. You probably made an impression on that little boy and perhaps he’ll recall it later on too. 🙂

[shannon-schumann]

For some reason, people always ask me “Is that a massage table,” when I am carrying my harp in its bag. MAYBE that is understandable when I am toting around my Merlin, but I get the same question when I am carrying a Harpsicle. Shrug – I guess that Leprechauns like massages too.

[tracey-kjonegaard]

When expressing my aggravation at not being able to fit my harp into my car, someone just suggested I “get a bike rack” or “wheel chair rack for the back of your car”

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

[Angela Biggs]

Tracey – Hahaha, that made me laugh! I think it’s clear that most people have no experience handling something so precious, especially something precious which is also their means of supporting themselves.

Last year I brought my harp to a talent show (never again), and even though the sound tech *knew* I needed quiet and time to tune, he intentionally left it out of his plans — and told me so. We had a mild spat backstage during intermission when it came time for me to tune and there was no space or quiet for me to do it, and he walked away to cool off, muttering loudly as he went, “It’s no different than any of the guitars here!” I yelled back, “It has THIRTY-SIX strings!” Which was as much detail as I could squeeze in before he rounded the corner. lol That was the day I tuned in a piano box….

From this I learned that for people accustomed to cheap guitars, harps are like unicorns. 🙂

[emma-graham]

These are great!
The best (worst?) conversation I ever found myself having was with an audience member after a recital. I always like to talk about the harp how we play it including explaining that we don’t use our little (pinky) fingers. This particular last came up to me and said “I thought you might like to know that you actually use your little finger quite regularly”. I smiled and assured her that it must have been an optical illusion. She got really stroppy and said “I can assure you I was watching really closely and you used them a lot. You obviously don’t even know you are doing it” OKaaaaaaay then!!

[kay-lister]

Emma,

LOLOLOLOL – YOU get the prize in my book!!!!!!! Really my dear . . . how DARE you play that thing when you don’t have a CLUE what your doing! LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!! This just made my day.

Kay 😉

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