When You Really Screw Up

06/27/14   Last night I went to an intimate dinner-concert to hear my favorite shakuhachi player. When I sat next to a couple I bubbled over with praise for his virtuosity on the shakuhachi. They looked shocked and said, but he doesn’t play the shakuhachi, he’s a classical guitarist.

I looked down on the program and saw that instead of “Riley Lee,” the performer was “Gyen Riley”. Once again, my aging tired mind had failed me. I saw “Gyen Riley” in the email announcement and my mind changed it to “Riley Lee”.

Instead of chastising myself for not looking better, I thought, ‘great food, wonderful dinner companions, and a chance to hear a world-class performer. It became a memorable evening. Not bad for screwing up.