The Organ Story

Picture of the Day for 12/30/2011. For the past few Christmases, my sister Paula has been giving me and my other sister Robynne CDs with recordings our family has made over the years (i.e., talks we gave in church, a recording we made for Paula's family when they were living out of state, etc.). This year's CD was a recording made over 20 years ago of me telling "The Infamous Organ Story." An unfortunate run-in I had with a church organ when I was approximately 20 years old remains the most embarrassing moment of my life. I tried to upload the recording to the blog, but the site won't allow me to post audio-only files. So, here's a recap of the story:

When I was a young woman attending the University of Utah, I served as an executive officer in Lambda Delta Sigma which is the Mormon alternative to the traditional Greek sororities nationwide. When I was in college, the University of Utah’s Lambda Delta Sigma organization consisted of approximately 10 chapters (each chapter functioned as a separate sorority).

My fellow executive officers and I were asked to speak in church one day at a local congregation. As the service was starting, I noticed there was no hymn book within reach, but there was an extra one relatively close by (as we were sitting up on the stand directly behind the pulpit) resting on top of the organ. I love to sing and figured I could sneak the few feet over to the organ to grab the hymn book without making a big production of it. In theory, my plan should have worked out, but my execution of the maneuver went horribly wrong as I failed to notice the organ was set into a depression and I ended up tripping. Even as I was tripping, it felt like time had slowed down enough for me to formulate a complex plan to mitigate the disaster. I thought to myself, "If I just reach out my hand to the top of the organ, I can stop myself from tripping." I reached out my hand, but unfortunately, I missed the top of the organ. Instead, my hand knocked over the stand holding up the organist's hymn book which caused the book to become a flying projectile.

At that point, I was thinking things couldn't get worse, but sadly they did. When I tripped over the organ, my high heel had unplugged the organ. So, here's the sequence of events. The music stand came down with a slam and caused the organist's hymn book to become airborne and then land on the keys. There was just enough power left for the crash to create a cacophony of discordant sound and then the organ went silent. This did not deter the organist who was in complete denial and continued to try to play the organ for a few moments before the sad reality of the situation set in.

The congregation (which was huge- there were about 200-300 people in attendance) was so stunned, it was if they were all holding their collective breath. I gave a little wave to the congregation, grabbed the hymn book I had sacrificed so much of my dignity to obtain, and then slunk back to my seat.

So, at that point I was thinking things couldn't get worse, but sadly they did. I had not only unplugged the organ, but I had managed to break it. I can still see in my mind's eye the three members of the bishopric on their hands and knees trying to fix the organ. It only took them about five minutes, but the meeting came to a complete halt during this time. It didn't help that I was sitting front and center on the stand for all the congregation to see during the five minutes of silence.

My fellow officers of course thought this was hysterical. During the remainder of the meeting, the group would frequently break out into a fit of silent giggles so the entire row would be shaking from all of the laughter.

The people who were NOT AMUSED by this incident were the national officers of Lambda Delta Sigma who just happened to be in attendance. Oops. Our group of executive officers for the University of Utah chapters was comprised of headstrong and quirky young women who definitely did not fit the mold of sweet Mormon girls. Consequently, we were never the national officers' favorite and my mishap did nothing to endear us to them.

On the other hand, the congregation could not have been nicer to me. After the meeting, several people came up to put their arm around me and tell me about their own embarrassing experiences.

Over the years, the story has reached legend status among friends and family. You have to admit- it is a fabulous story.