Luncheon Address: Isn't this where We Came In?

One of the problems in speaking at such a luncheon as this is that you never know what the audience expects. It is not unlike the occasion when Isaac Stern was scheduled to give a mid-winter recital in Ithaca, New York. Unfortunately on the appointed day, an immense blizzard dropped 20 inches of snow on Ithaca, and when Mr. Stern came on the stage that evening, only six people had made it to the auditorium, and two of them were ushers. Isaac looked at this audience, laughed, and said, “This is ridiculous. Let's just go to the bar, have a drink, and warm up.” One man in the audience jumped up and said, “Oh, Mr. Stern, I have driven for six hours through this snow just to get here tonight. Sing something.”

Published

1988-01

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/M00520

ISBN

978-1-61482-917-1