I had a nightmare that I’d taken over FocusMusic. Herb, the current president, had retired and was passing the reins unto me and there was a lot more to it than simply a folk music organization.
First, there was the apartment building. Old and stone, I met with all the FocusMusic denizens in the basement, dimly lit and slightly damp. An echoey space where I climbed behind the lectern and Herb made it all official behind the old, darkly-stained wood. There were a number of shouted objections but Herb shouted them down and with a couple of raps of his heavy wood and steel gavel it was done. I was now responsible for some two dozen folk musicians in their 60s and 70s, guiding them back to their rooms. Immediately my other responsibilities became clear. One had brown water, one’s ceiling was leaking, one’s organ was out of tune.
Herb watched for a short time and assured me I had everything under control before vanishing through the heavy iron door at the front and I settled in with my big FocusMusic wrench and got to work.
In a world of proprietary tools and cables, I really liked that my wrench worked on the plumbing AND the pipe organ (which sort of makes sense) but I think I used it tune old harpsichords too. It was a lot of work and it wasn’t until I was returning back to my own apartment (the presidency of FocusMusic comes with it’s own apartment, doncha know), fumbling with the big iron key ring, that some of the perks of the job became more apparent :
The FocusMusic Live-in mistress was not uncomely, but I work up as I backed up to my door explaining “no really, I know I’m not wearing my wedding ring, but I’m MARRIED!”
