Heart Attack...!

[Mark Walker]

Absolutely true story: # My cousin Dave lost his wife at far too young of an age (48) a few years back. #He comes from a large family and has 9 siblings. #They have a popular bluegrass band here in West Michigan, and are well-known.
About 6 months before his wife passed away, I got my first Silver Angel mandolin. #At that time Ken Ratcliff was building them with the mother-of-pearl 'flying angel' in the headstock.
The night after his wife passed, I had an eerie dream (also absolutely true) that Ken Ratcliff was building a two-pointer mandolin and had named it Cynthia Jane - the name of my cousin's wife. #In my dream it had a headstock with an angel in it, and that he was making it for Dave. #

The next morning I called Ken, and he had actually STARTED a 2-pointer the previous day. #I told him, "I'm buying that for my cousin." #Ken did indeed name it Cynthia Jane. #

Now the heart-stopper... #I was driving around to all Dave's siblings' houses to let them know I was getting this custom-made mandolin for him commemorating his late wife, and to see if they wanted to be part of that effort. #I brought mine along to show them Ken's workmanship and they all LOVED the idea of a mandolin commemorating his late wife. #
I stopped at one of his sister's houses - she'd been out doing yard work - and I set my Silver Angel case on the trunk-lid of my car and opened it up for her to see. #Of course she wanted to help out with the purchase, and we walked in the house for a soft drink and she pledged some finances toward the effort.
I got back in my car, and drove to another sibling's house - about 5 miles away. #The route was a combination of gravel and paved roads. #When I got to Dave's brother Carl's house, one of Carl's kids came out to meet me as I was driving up their long, winding driveway. #She said to me through my open window, "Hey Mark, do you know you have a mandolin case on the back of your car?" #
I cranked my head around and looked in the back seat - NO mandolin! #My heart absolutely stuttered! #I looked through the back window, and there on the truck lid was my Silver Angel! #
I can only assume Divine intervention; the TKL case - with the little metal 'feet' pegs on the bottom - by rights should have slid or bounced or rattled off enroute from my previous stop. #It was in the exact same place I'd set it down when showing it to Dave's sister!
My heart pounded for the next two hours; Carl said to me, "You MUST have an angel watching over you and your mandolin. #And of course we're 'in' on the deal to buy him a Silver Angel!" # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
To this day I cannot believe I drove that far on those roads without that mandolin sailing off the back of my car and getting smashed somewhere along the route! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[harleymando]

ya dummy!...lucky dummy at that!

[jim simpson]

That's a great story!

I lent a friend of mine a Fender P-bass for a little informal gig he would be doing at his workplace in Princeton, NJ. A few days after the gig he told me the story of how he had placed my bass in it's gig bag on the trunk of his car and left it there. He drove all the way back to PA travelling on curvy back roads as well as on the highway. When he got home, he said he realized that it wasn't in the back seat but was still on the lid of the trunk. It seemed the trunk lid had sort of a luggage rail on the perimeter. I kind of wish he hadn't told me but he did say he was prepared to replace it. Whew!

[sunburst]

Sounds to me like you're a pretty good driver.
The first job I managed to get when I got out of college, during a recession, was driving a school bus. Someone left a stuffed toy on the bus, so I put it on the metal shelf-like part of the door opener where everyone would see it as they got on or off of the bus. Nobody claimed it, so it was still there when the bus was empty.
As soon as the bus was empty and I started for home, the toy fell off.
In thinking about why it sat there for 27 miles, and then fell off, I realized that I was driving much more smoothly as long as I had the comfort of passengers to consider, and as soon as I was alone in the bus, I was just going home and didn't care so much about smoothness.

I bet I could comfortable ride in the car with you if you can keep a mandolin case on the trunk!

[Hans]

Well, as long as we're talking heart attacks, here's my story. A few years ago I was putting the final touches on a customer's mandolin. My workbench is the outfeed table of the table saw, so when I'm sitting in a chair, the instrument is right in my face. Very convenient for a nearsighted/half blind old coot. I have no idea what happened, but the next thing I knew, the instrument was doing a 360 about a foot off the bench, and inches in front of my eyes! I reflexively stuck out my hand and with total blind luck, grabbed it by the neck. Not a scratch! Think I shook for about 2 hours after that.

[luckylarue]

A friend of mine belongs/worships at the Church of the Lucky Dogs - a small, some-what progressive sect whose doctrine consists of several Commandments - all of which are optional. Numero uno commandment is one I strictly adhere to and states: NEVER set anything on top of your car.

[jim simpson]

"NEVER set anything on top of your car".

Makes me think of the scene in "Raising Arizona" with the baby.

[Mark Walker]

Yup - I was lucky. #Or being watched over! #MUCH more heart-stopping than my dog coming up and pawing at me and putting a scratch on the front of my guitar! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Any more near misses out there? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[mrmando]

I was practicing my viola in my stocking feet one morning. I was either tired or just very relaxed -- so relaxed that I dropped the viola. I stuck out my foot and caught it, perfectly, between my metatarsals and my shin, which fit perfectly into the C-bouts.

[RI-Grass]

I once put my Rigel and a mike stand down behind my car to run in and get something I forgot. I was up the road before I realized that I had backed out of the driveway without putting the instrument in it!
It was in what I think is called a travelite case (foam inside, cloth outside.) The mike stand got all chewed up but the Rigel was in perfect condition. Couple of scuff marks on the case. Whew.
Sal

[Mark Walker]

RI-Grass - WHOA! Lucky you had a decent case surrounding your Rigel! That would stop MY heart from beating for sure! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[MML]

The Lord works in mysterious ways:D

[PhilGE]

I once had the tailpin slip out of my Aspen while I was standing and using a strap, but not holding the instrument with my hands. I swooped down with my left hand and caught it by the neck with less than a foot to go before it would've struck the concrete floor. Whew! All that juggling practice paid off... (you must be a closet juggler, Hans).

Along the lines of "first scratch": my first ever custom made instrument, an octave mandolin by Thomas Buchanan, was sitting in a stand at a jam when it was all of about a month old. A very nice fellow was moving nearby with a folded chair. The chair slipped, bounced, struck the binding on the back which sent the instrument flying up and spinning into another chair. Luckily, a friend was standing nearby and was able to catch it mid-air about 3" from the concrete floor. Two small small crunches to the binding, but saved from major catastrophe!

[jim_n_virginia]

A very nice fellow was moving nearby with a folded chair. The chair slipped, bounced, struck the binding on the back which sent the instrument flying up and spinning into another chair.

Two small small crunches to the binding, but saved from major catastrophe!
WHOA!!! I think I would have been able to burn two holes through the nice guy that dropped the folding chairs with the two lazar beam hard looks from my eyes at the poor guy!

And I would have taken the friend who caught the mando out for a beer and pizza! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif