[Trombone-l] that Talking Metronome story

[Tom Ervin]

Ray asked if the talking metronome story (below) was true.
It might be true, but it did not happen to me.  I rather wish it had!
Hmm, I bet it did happen to someone else though, perhaps a lister.

Ervin
+++++++
Ray wrote:
Hey Tom Ervin!
Did the "Talking Metronome" story start with you? I had not heard of  
it, but after I took one week off (Sunday, Dec 28) from my Minister  
of Music duties at my church, I came back and saw that my pastor had  
used your name in her sermon! I googled the story and it seems to  
have gathered a life of it's own, with and (mostly) without your name  
attached.

Here is the version that my pastor used:

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Tom Ervin, Professor of Music at the University of Arizona attended a  
conference for music teachers in New York. He purchased a talking  
metronome at the display area of the conference. (A metronome is a  
device for counting the beats in a song.) On the way home from  
LaGuardia Tom and his son hefted his carry-on bag onto the security- 
check conveyor belt.

The security guard's eyes widened as he watched the monitor and he  
asked Tom about the bag’s contents. Then the guard slowly pulled out  
of the bag a strange looking device, a six-by-three-inch black box  
covered with dials and switches. Other travelers, sensing trouble,  
vacated the area.

“It's a metronome," Tom replied weakly. His son cringed in  
embarrassment. “It's a talking metronome," he insisted. “Look, I'll  
show you." He took the box and flipped a switch, realizing that he  
had no idea how it worked. “One . . . two . . . three . . . four,"  
said the metronome in perfect time. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As they gathered their belongings, Tom's son whispered, “Aren't you  
glad it didn't go 'four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . '?"
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Tom Ervin
ervint at u.arizona.edu
Prof of Trombone, Univ Arizona (Emeritus)
...now a recovering trombone player.... ; >}
(520)241-4411 (cell)
website:     tom-ervin.com