Kith & Kin

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Yes, this is a true story, related as accurately as I can, considering that the events occurred thirty years ago. Have you ever heard the expression “There’s no education in the second kick of a mule”? According to this article , the saying “is a proverb meaning that one should have learned the lesson the first time. L. Mendel Rivers (1905–1970), a Democratic U.S. Representative from South Carolina, used the saying many times.” For some reason that aphorism comes to mind when I recall turning pages for Samuel Sanders as he accompanied the legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman at the Peace Center in January of 1994. I had already been kicked by the page-turner mule once, but when the house manager asked me if I wanted to do it again when Perlman came, I bent over and said, “Yeah! Kick me again!” If you’ve read my previous blog post, “ Adventures in Page Turning, Part 1 ,” you will know that in October of 1993 I had the privilege of turning pages for Emanuel Ax,...

My program from that evening, signed by Ma and Ax. AUTHOR’S NOTE: Yes, this is a true story, related as accurately as I can, considering that the events occurred thirty years ago. There I sat, alone—alone on stage at the Peace Center . Alone in front of a packed house—over 2000 people in attendance. And I wasn’t supposed to be there. You ever have a nightmare where you find yourself in public in your underwear? Yeah, well, this was kind of like one of those dreams. Except I was wearing a suit. How in the world did I end up here? My mind began to drift back . . . “That Would Be . . . Amazing!” Months back, at my interview for an usher position with the Peace Center, Gary, the House Manager, asked me why I wanted to be an usher. Part of my answer was that I loved music—I played the piano, sang in choir, loved classic Broadway musicals . . . Gary remembered those comments when an unusual need came up. “Hey, you read music, right?” “Yeah.” ...