Miscellaneous

A college student of mine said something interesting to me yesterday, something that took me completely by surprise.

He said, "Do you realize how cool a life you live?"

I told him that I was glad someone thought thought that about my life. I suppose the life of a professional musician is kinda cool, but I don't tend to think in those terms very often. All in all, it was nice to hear that someone views my life that way.

On another note, tonight we did a benefit concert for the women's committee of the symphony. It was supposed to be a showcase of the musicians, with little tidbits of human interest stories about each of the players. I was a last minute replacement for another group and I never got any sort of trivia to the organizer, so she corralled me at a rehearsal and asked me for something to include in the presentation. There was a group of us talking, and someone mentioned my Mrs. Field's semifinal entry and everyone thought that would be a good angle for the concert. I left it in her hands.

This is the opening line that I heard at the dress rehearsal, the first thing that was going to be said to the audience tonight about me:

"Dan likes to bake."

Now, if I were to ever introduce myself to a stranger, those four words wouldn't be the first four out of my mouth. Nor would I automatically start to talk about my Mrs. Field's competition, or Mint Chocolate Explosion cookies. As soon as those words were uttered about me, the teasing and ribbing began backstage. With an opening line like that, it was open season on Mr. Dan. I made a joke of it and demanded an edit.

I was hoping to rewrite the blurb, saying something like, "Dan took classes at the CIA where he explored the possibility of becoming a professional chef," etc., etc. When I told the woman who organized the event that I wanted to edit things to sound a little less, um, gay, she said that she already had edited the line and that I didn't have any say. I laughed it off and hoped for the best.

Here's what I heard tonight:

"Dan likes to bake, especially for the ladies."

As you can imagine, the women were lining up afterwards to talk about scones and biscuits.

It's going to take a long time to live this one down.