I was hired to play for a PTA fundraiser in rural Western NJ on Sunday, and I got my asking price. I was looking forward to playing for big group of kids. Not to be. It was a cold and showery day with torrential downpours on my way to my 6 pm set. When I got to the community park around 5 pm, there were few families around. The lady in charge asked me to set up quickly and start in, in order to maintain some activity. I dove in, set up in the pavilion and began. A few girls were encouraged to come over, pick up an instrument and I something to work with. Over the course of the next hour, I engaged those girls and several others who came over, and we had a great time. The other folks manning the games, food vendors and volunteers reacted from their tables while dealt with the girls. It was too cold and too late in the day for this to work.
I felt especially bad by accepting the check but offered a free visit to the school in the next couple of weeks to do an in-house classroom visit with the little kids. I’d rather be playing for the kids than making a big payday. I’m pretty sure that the PTA found the funds from local sources for my services but it was awkward. I look forward to my return to the school as karmic payback.