I still remember choking at my piano recital during high school. The girl before completely blanked (horrible to witness) and her wipeout psyched me out. I was playing Bach Invention #13, which I loved and practiced a kabillion times at home, but that moment, with everyone staring at me? All I could get out were the first three measures — then CHOKED. (I ended up jumping ahead in the piece and played the whole thing in 30 seconds. Having a fast word/per/minute typing time is good at work, but not really relevant for the piano — unless you want to get the hell out of dodge.)
When you’re doing a show, choking is worse. I still remember blanking on lines in a Steinbeck show I did with my friend Christine. It was like a MONOLOGUE while two performers acting out the story — so it was all on me. The moment I forgot my lines, the lights shined brighter, I could hear my heart speed up, and I broke out into a crazy-woman level of sweat. Not good. As I sat there wondering what I should do (I thought about starting over, I thought about leaving and never coming back, wondering where the fire exit, etc.), the line finally came back to me. Thank God!
The only other times I choked was um, four times, during the first time I ever performed a one-person show because I was so unbelievably nervous. We put the script on the accordion’s music stand, thank God! Hopefully, those days are behind me — not the forgetting part, because I’m only too aware of how my memory is starting to fade with age, but next time, maybe my runaway nerves will have chilled.
Is that how you give the heimlich to a dog?
oh is that what it was? i thought for some reason that’s how that person gave herself the heimlich using the dog….but your interpretation actually makes sense. i just found it on google image. i didn’t bother to read the article it came with
hahahahaha, it would be infinitely more brilliant if that was indeed an illustration of a person using the hind legs of a dog to perform a heimlich on herself.
I don’t remember you choking!
really? good. maybe you blocked it out. i was certain you’d never talk to me again. in fact, forget i brought it up
I remember you telling KL that you had choked, but I don’t remember seeing it. That was how AWESOME your performance was! š