by Bob Cafaro, Cello
Mark
Twain wrote a short story about the danger of lying in
bed because the lives of most will conclude there. We go
to great lengths to avoid many statistically safe
activities and situations because of fear the Grim
Reaper will be waiting. Twain humorously illustrates the
absurdity of this philosophy because chances are
greatest of dying in a bed somewhere. The musicians of
The Philadelphia Orchestra on tour in
Japan
endure a similar threat, but not from death. Our
challenge is setting the clock ahead 13 hours and trying
to stay on a normal schedule of rehearsals and concerts.
Those familiar with the science fiction movie Invasion
of the Body Snatchers, will understand our situation. In
this film the earth is invaded by an alien life form
which takes over and clones humans, but only when they
sleep. Survival is a matter of staying awake despite an
extreme state of sleep deprivation.
Years
ago during the early afternoon of my very first
Philadelphia Orchestra concert in
Tokyo, I was feeling so tired
that I decided to lie on the bed for a few minutes. I
was woken from deep slumber by the phone and it was the
Orchestra Personnel Manager. The clock said 7:02, it was
dark outside and I was totally disoriented (no pun
intended). She said in a rather urgent voice “Bob, I’m
at the hall.” (A moment of silence...) I replied “Was I
supposed to meet you there?” She shot back “Bob, there
is a 7:00 pm concert and you’re supposed to be here
playing.” In a panic I jumped up and ran the short
distance from the hotel to the hall, but it was too
late. The Orchestra was already in the second movement
of the Beethoven Second Symphony. How embarrassed I was!
This
past Wednesday, May 18 was our opening concert and sure
enough, two Orchestra members had fallen asleep and
missed the first half of the concert. I have had many
nightmares about not being able to get to a concert,
having no music, and not being able to find my cello or
concert clothes. But oversleeping for an Orchestra
concert is a nightmare which became reality for me, and
it is an experience which will never be forgotten. That
Wednesday at 3:00 in the afternoon I was once again
understandably tired and felt the need to close my eyes
for just a minute. But this time having wisdom from
experience, I chose the hotel room floor over the bed to
avoid getting too comfortable. At 6:20 I was rudely
woken by an excruciating pain in my right shoulder.
During sleep I had apparently rolled onto my right side
but cannot sleep on that side because of a broken
collarbone 7 years ago. The floor compounded the pain
which luckily woke me 40 minutes prior to the start of
the opening concert.
I must
confess to finding humor in the fact that 2 of my
colleagues suffered the same embarrassing fate of
oversleeping for an opening concert, but it happens on
every Asian tour. It is said that a smart person learns
from their mistakes, but a brilliant person learns from
the mistakes of others. Perhaps a more appropriate title
of this story should have been The Safety of Lying on
the Floor!
L to R, Blair Bollinger -
bass trombone, Bob Cafaro - cello and Chris Deviney -
percussion cruising the Internet with computers and VoIP.
