Main highway!
Off the beaten path...

🎼 Philharmonic National Tour

 


    In 1952 the New York Philharmonic was on a national tour and on their way home from the west coast when their flight was grounded in Kansas due to bad weather...


It had been a long tour and tensions had been running high. The first violin player was a wreck from excessive alcohol consumption, the trumpet section engaged in much infighting due to competing egos, and the timpani player showed up late to many performances.


Donovan Schmidt, the leader of the orchestra at the time and renowned for his bad temper, was furious. The flight delay was the last straw, and his patience was starting to get the better of him.


After enduring a 30-minute argument between his bassoon and tuba players, Schmidt snapped and threw his baton at them.


Sailing through the air the baton pierced a bassoon player's eye, entered his brain, and he promptly dropped dead.


The ensuing months saw Schmidt dragged in and out of court and the nation waited with baited breath to see what would become of his fate.


Finally, it was ruled by a jury of his peers that he should face the death penalty by electric chair. Shocked and dismayed, the arts community rallied around Schmidt, but it was to no avail. The date had been set.


Strapped into the chair and with his head shaven, Schmidt had tears streaming down his face as the warden gave the nod to throw the switch....then, nothing happened.


Confused, the death row technicians reset the machine, rewired the harness, and waited for the Warden's signal....then, nothing.


This happened 4 times in a row until the warden screamed at his officers "just what in the hell is going on in there?!"


Scratching his head, the senior corrections officer yells out to the warden "I dunno...I guess he must be a bad conductor."

Comments

    Leave Us External Links for Your Mother...

Love us back, because we said so.

Version History    Mobile Version     Privacy Policy     Rules     Site Map     Help

™ & ©2024 Storyteller Studios. All Rights Reserved. Version 3.0.1 Blue Jay

Cool Blue Outer Glow Pointer