taking the Heat

Of course you know I am not and never will be in the music business but I did volunteer this year to work at the Americana Music Association's conference held in Nashville. Despite appearances I really did work pretty hard, and played a fair amount, too. It is great to see your friends and acquaintances and to catch a glimpse of some of your favorite entertainers. I worked at the registration table handing out the conference registration packets which was kind of a thrill in itself. During the down times I thumbed through the boxes of registrations and saw Alden, Grant. Baez, Joan. Gordon, Kevin. Holcomb, Malcolm.Tapia, Abi. And I didn't even have the performers' box! More notable were the names that were not there, but were expected to be. On a couple of occasions a recognizable figure would be expecting to have a complimentary registration that did not materialize, at which point I got to pass them ten feet away to Joyce S. who got to explain that they didn't get an entire registration for speaking at one panel discussion, or that they only got a day pass, or remember, you told me your wife was not coming. That's what I call taking the heat!