Dear List, An incident happened today I felt worthy of sharing. A harpsichord that I have tuned at a minimum of twice a year for easily 30+ years was, once again, tuned by me again this morning for a special event. Lo and behold, someone had removed all four (4) of the hinge pins. Never before has this ever happened. Needless to say, I was quite surprised to watch AND listen (in somewhat anguish) the lid slide off the instrument into the conductor's stand ... into the platform ... onto the floor. The Fine Arts Secretary, who happened to be in the auditorium at the time says, "Are you okay?" To wit I replied, "Yes. Someone removed the hinge pins. Do you know where they are?" "No" was her reply. Looking everywhere I could suspect they might be, they were nowhere to be found. Moral: Don't become familiar with your work. Check every single time before lifting a lid on any instrument to verify there are, in fact, hinge pins inserted in the hinges, and defer a similar experience. Sincerely, Keith McGavern, RPT
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