My OOPS

[Ron Nossaman]

> *Well, I did it again. It has been 20+ years, since it happened.*
> *I drove an hour for my first appointment of the day, got there at 0900 
> hrs., right on time.*
> *Opened the side door of my van, reached in for my tools, but they were 
> not there. Yes, you guessed it, I had left them home.*
> *So round trip of two more hours, and I started my first tuning two 
> hours late.*
> *So four and a half hours driving today, made for a longer day.*
> ** 
> *John M. Ross


Well, hey. If it took you this long, you're a lot more alert 
than I ever was. There are a few flip sides too. Leaving a 
mute, temperament strip, fork, chain nose pliers, voicing 
tool, or Vise-Grip at the last appointment is an old favorite. 
The "You didn't happen to accidentally put my metronome in 
your tool case, did you?" call is fun too. "Nope, it's on the 
mantle, with the 47 family photos and the mutant Ficus". The 
other one, I got this afternoon. "We found a tuning thing you 
might have left here this morning". "Thing"? Mental inventory 
not dredging up any out of the ordinary potential for 
transient stupidity (grading on the curve, I realize), I 
asked, "What sort of thing"? "A tuner thing", was the reply. 
About now, I'm wondering if anything relating to tuning that I 
own and carry could possibly be worth what is beginning to 
look like traversing the next 13 levels of Hell required to 
identify - let alone retrieve it. "It's a little box, with 
buttons on it", the caller mercifully volunteered, bypassing a 
good seven levels. "What's the name on the box", I ask, 
detecting that the barred gate at the end of the tunnel might 
just be slightly ajar and going for an end run. "Korg", came 
the echo from the Stygian Pit. "Nah", I said (trying not to 
sound too relieved), "Not mine, but I appreciate the call to 
check". "I expect a guitarist might be asking about it pretty 
soon - he's your guy". Assorted pleasantries, exit stage left.

Cynicism aside, it does my poor old hammered heart good to 
find there are still worthy folk out there who will take the 
time and effort to make a phone call in the interest of 
looking out for someone else. Perhaps the species has 
potential after all...

Perhaps...
Ron N