"All words are symbols that represent unspeakable realities. Which is also why words are magical." (Donald Miller tweet)

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

the mic

There's been one repeatedly difficult moment on Sunday mornings since we've arrived here.

The mic.

It's practically invisible, with decent quality sound. Leaves my hands free to wave in all directions. Which is a bonus. 

Theoretically, the mic hooks gently on one's ear and stays there, unobtrusively but firmly in place, fully adjustable and bendy-like. 

Theoretically.

The first week, I went in for a sound check several days before. The first guy showed me how to put it on. It wouldn't stay. Made it smaller. Nope. Smaller again. It fell off when I turned my head. 

He handed me off to a second guy with a polite comment about my "diminutive ears". That guy worked on it for awhile. Long hair is not one's friend in these instances, FYI.

First guy came back and they two worked on it together, one of them standing on a chair towering over me to figure out HOW to make the thing stay on my apparently freakishly tiny head. 

Finally got it in place. Judging by the level of pain, it involved thumb tacking it gently into my skull. 

And that's how it's been every week. If you notice me wincing at the end of the third service as I remove it from my head, that's why. 

When we had a guest speaker (*cough* Evangel's former pastor *cough*) he burst out laughing at the mangled, tiny loop to which it had been reduced. "What is THIS??" he gasped mid-guffaw. I couldn't help but laugh with him. "It's my head ... I guess it's weird ..."


But New Year's Eve ... oh joy ... it slid right into place! Couldn't even feel it. And yesterday morning ... it wasn't bad at all! Just a tiny twinge from time to time. Somehow it fits. Or I've tormented the nerve endings into a state of permanent numbness.

Either way is fine with me.

We were *this close* to buying a new mic - and that thought made me crazy. I could hear my grandmother - maybe it was my mom - let's be honest, it was my own head muttering away about spending money when we already have a perfectly good mic. Now ... maybe ... we don't have to. 

Hooray. :)