I'll never forget one of my big moments to shine. Mother had insisted that I take a year of organ lessons with the piano teacher in town. Mrs. Neal lived just a block from our house so on the afternoons of our weekly lessons I'd walk down the sidewalk to her home. What a novel idea--walking somewhere. Another benefit of small town life! Mrs. Neal had a porch swing on her wide front porch. As you drove or walked past her house you'd always see the children of the town sittting, waiting for their turn to go in for a lesson. Well, for that one year, I learned all about the organ and how to operate the foot pedals and dual keyboard. And, since Mother's goal was to have me play for church services she was thrilled when the pastor invited me to play a "special" number for service one night.
The piano and organ flanked the platform of our church and you had to go up about three steps to get to where the organ was situated. The pastor introduced my piece and I still remember proudly walking up those steps and situating my sheet music on the organ. There was a lamp that hung over the organ and it was perfect for illuminating the music to be played.
I began playing my piece, things were going perfectly. I was truly making Mother proud. Then I had to turn the page. The problem was that when I did turn the page it caught on the lamp and caused it to tumble. To prevent the lamp from crashing to the floor I reached out with both hands to grab it and my elbows landed on the keyboard. The sound was horrific, the lamp was saved, the congregation laughed like crazy, and then I had to play the final page of music. I was horrified and my cheeks burned as I finished playing and went back to my pew. I never wanted to see those people again. Unfortunately I had to go back and face them over and over and over again.
Have I had subsequent embarrasing moments over the years? You bet! I've had too many to count and much worse situations to deal with. Thankfully, the crashing light and dissonant chords taught me early in life to keep my chin up and move on.
Lesson Learned: Life can come crashing and crushing at any time. How you catch the light and play the last page is what propels you forward.
