Sleep Talkin' Man Read Online Free PDF Page A

(play having been proven inadequate preparation for our non-play-centered world). It may not have been quite the right fit for sensitive, creative Adam, but he made an earnest effort to find his place.
    One such endeavor was to join the music department. Adam had always been interested in percussion—in fact, he would later go on to become a downright decent drummer. But thesewere very early days in Adam’s music education, and his teacher thought it best to start him off on the forgiving triangle. This instrument propelled Adam into an elite society of the school: the Haberdashers’ Aske’s third orchestra.
    (Note the “third.” That means there were two that were better. To get a sense of the level of talent—and enthusiasm—we’re talking about here, go to YouTube and search for “Orchestra Fail.” Make sure your speakers are turned up really loud.)
    Adam’s parents remember with great relish Adam’s first (and last) concert with the orchestra. Seeing him up there on that stage, surrounded by violinists, cellists, and flutists, the Lennards were bursting with pride. As the conductor tapped his wand on the stand, Adam raised his triangle with an air of gravity, preparing himself for his triumphant debut.
    It just so happens that, in the piece being performed that evening, the triangle was to remain silent for the first 148 bars, only entering in the final climax. For 148 breath-holding bars, Adam’s parents watched him, arm held high in the air in front of him, clutching his trianglealoft—looking for all the world like one of the Hitler Youth—nodding his head dramatically to each beat as he carefully counted the bars. Finally his moment approached, and it was with an expression of triumphant ecstasy that Adam raised the striker, and struck that triangle with all the passion he could summon.
    Unfortunately, Adam had forgotten that he needed to hold the strap on which the triangle is hung, rather than the triangle itself. So, when he finally struck his fair instrument, he produced nothing more than a dull, discordant clang. From his place on the stage, Adam saw the front section of the audience recoil in horror at the cruel assault on their unsuspecting ears.
    Thus came to a close Adam’s tenure with the Haberdashers’ Aske’s third orchestra.
    As he got older, Adam, still looking to find his place, took a stab at mixing in with the “bad” kids. One day the school board members had come for a meeting, and Adam’s friends decided it would be amusing to steal all of their Mercedes hood ornaments. When the theft was discovered, the headmaster rounded up all of the usual suspects,
    Adam among them. The first kid emptied his bag—out clattered a Mercedes ornament. Clinkety clank. The next kid, same thing. Clink clank clinkety clank. One after another, all of the boys were forced to dump out their prized booty on the headmaster’s desk. Finally, the headmaster faced Adam at the end of the line. Adam sheepishly upended his bag, and out clattered … a Ford ornament. CLUNK. He had been so worried about the damage he would cause to an expensive car, he had passed up all the shining Mercedes for an unassuming Fiesta. Thus ended Adam’s stint among the hoodlums of Haberdashers’, such as they were.
    From all family and school reports, Adam was a delightful little boy: sweet, funny, harmlessly mischievous, creative, outgoing. But alongside those traits, he was also a sensitive, emotional child, and as he got into his formative years, that sensitivity transformed into a consistent struggle with low self-esteem. Recently, I got a chance to go through all of Adam’s old school records. I expected to find lots of humorous comments from teachers proving just how much of a characterhe was. Instead, what I found over and over, year after year, was some version of “Adam is a wonderful, bright boy with lots of potential. But he needs to work on his self-confidence.”
    Now, many soul-searching, therapy-attending