My hero pennywhistle!

Here’s a photo of some of my pennywhistles; in this case they’re all in the key of high D.  Do you see the distinct crease in the Soodlum’s (Walton’s) Mello-D with the green fipple, second from the top?

That crease doesn’t affect the sound, so I still play that whistle often, because it does indeed have a mellow, sweet sound.

And because it’s a hero!

In late 1994 I was hired to play background music for a reception at a convention center in Norfolk, Virginia.  (Incidentally, I think it was an event focusing on adoption at which Dave Thomas of Wendy’s was being honored.  …Or was it the hearing impaired educators’ event at which I met our track hero Jim Ryun?  In fact, maybe even both are true, but I can’t remember exactly twenty-one years later!)

I was in a hurry to get my hammered dulcimer set up and tuned before the guests arrived on the scene, so I quickly set up the folding scissors stand and lifted the dulcimer out of its case and hovered it over the stand from the far side, and…

As I let go, it slid right on past the lower edge of the stand and onto the concrete floor!

Except that the Soodlum’s Mello-D whistle was lying there on the concrete, and it perfectly absorbed the force of the dulcimer’s fall, receiving the immortal crease that you see above.

Shall we now extend this story to some sort of analogy or metaphor?  Go ahead, if you want.

My hero pennywhistle!