Have the Right Tools
Yesterday morning three events convinced me of the importance of having the right tools for the right job.
I was supposed to be at someone's apartment very far away from mine (175 blocks north) by 10am to play the Grosse Fuge. (Pause for moment of reflection re just how bizarre and disturbing that movement is.) When I got to the right neighborhood, I discovered that I was forty minutes early. So I killed a lot of time and then arrived punctually.
But I was half an hour late. My watch had slowed. The others glared politely at me.
Then, at the end of our time, we found we could not leave the room where we were playing. Nope — no way out. The door was firmly jammed shut. My host took out an Exacto knife and tried to move the lock, but no luck. Then he reached for a triangular cardboard container next to a crowded bookshelf and withdrew…a saw. Yes, a saw. I will never forget the sight of this mild-mannered cellist working away at the door with his saw. That worked, fortunately (I was not looking forward to whatever escalation ideas he had), and we were very relieved. He put the saw back in the cardboard container together with the bow he uses to play the saw. It was not just any saw — it was a musical saw.
Then we trooped towards the door for the long ride south. And, once again, we could not leave. The outer door to the apartment was completely stuck. My host chuckled, and began working with the lock — this time, all it took was a key.
This is not a consequential story. But it was one strange morning.