My receiving my very first check from the Florence Chapter of the AARP reminded me of the check I received from Helen Walton, wife of billionaire and founder of Wal*Mart, Sam Walton. I performed for Miss Helen at her house on behalf of the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestras fundraiser, back in 1999. In truth, I was literally the last man on Earth the Symphony wanted to ask.... The story goes like this: In walks the personnel manager of NASO into my office at the University of Arkansas and she says: Kabin.... You are my last hope! Can you play at Ms. Helens house for our fundraiser? I asked the conductor and she cannot do it as she has an event to attend. I asked the concertmaster and he cannot do it. I asked the other principal strings, winds and brass and they cannot do it. I asked other faculty who cant do it. I have nobody left to ask.... So here I am asking you. Well... with an offer that loving and sweet, how could I not say yes? I told her: Babs, You had me at We dont trust you! So off I went, with my colleague Campbell Johnson playing piano and we played for about 50 or so people at the surprisingly modest ranch-style home of the richest woman in the world. We played about 30 minutes and I was ON FIRE! I was funny and charming, and most importantly, I played my ass off. I even had them call the hogs, in the middle of a piece, which was pretty amazing! People laughed at the right moments, many cried when I played Dont Cry For Me, Argentina, and at the end, Campbell and I got a standing ovation and a hug from Miss Helen. We were a HIT! I was SOARING! As I was packing my stuff, Miss Helens personal assistant come to me and handed me an envelope. I could tell it had a check in it. OMFG!!! A CHECK FROM HELEN WALTON!!! THE RICHEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD!!! I feigned humility and said Oh, NOOO... I cannot take money from Miss Helen. It was my pleasure to play at her home and be of service. Her assistant said: Take it, Kabin. Youll offend her if you do not. So, of course, as humbly as I could, I gingerly took that envelope from her and was on my way. As soon as I was out of visual range of the house, I stopped the car and grabbed that envelope. WHAT WAS IN THAT ENVELOPE? HOW MUCH DID SHE GIVE ME?? HELEN WALTON IS THE RICHEST DAMNED WOMAN IN THE WORLD!!! THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING! With shaking hands, I opened the envelope with a check from the richest woman in the world. In that envelope were 2 things: One was a note that said: You were wonderful! Thank You for visiting and performing for us. ~ Helen Walton. The other was a check for... Ten dollars. I am grateful for the story. Truly, I am. Thank You, Miss Helen.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 01:33:44 +0000
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