Bomb

  When one does a record show, you have to pay in advance for the number of tables you will need to sell your stuff. There were no refunds, if a seller didn't show up.  At the first show I did, I paid for just one table, and I found that one was not enough space.  Two tables were much better.  Some promoters wanted you to buy a space. which was actually better, because you bring in your own tables and other display materials.  At a couple of shows, I brought a combination TV/VCR to play my tapes on which helped pass the time, and it was an attention grabber.  People liked coming to my space, and they ended up buying something.

 One show I did was in Greenville, SC.  It was in an old mall that only had a couple of stores in it.  The night before the show, it snowed in Greenville.  I called the promoter to see if the show was still on, and she said it was.  Since I had paid for two tables, I had to go.  No refunds.  My friends Del and Chris went with me.  I had my usual stuff in the trunk of my car which helped with traction on the icy roads.  After living in Texas, where we got snow a lot in the winter, I knew how to drive in that stuff.

 By the time we got there that morning, the snow had mostly turned into icy slush.  We got off of the interstate, and it was a short drive to the mall.  They had started late to allow for a little thaw.  Our tables were near the entrance to J. B. White's, which was the only department store in the mall.  It was a good location.  As we placed the boxes on the tables, we found that the tables were not sturdy enough to hold the weight of the boxes or record albums.  It sagged in the middle.  So, we put the album boxes on the ends of the tables, and the videotapes in the middle.  

 During the show, there were two guys selling at a couple of tables across from us.  All of a sudden, everyone heard a big bang that sounded like a bomb going off inside the mall.  Between the hearts pounding in peoples' chests and the diving under tables thinking shots fired, we saw what had happened.  Their tables broke, and all of their records were strewn out onto the floor.  After everyone gathered their wits, we all helped them pick up their records.  Some were broken.  The promoter said that it was the mall's fault for having substandard tables.  It was.  The show closed early because of the weather.  I didn't sell much that day, but it was good to know that no one had a heart attack when the "bomb" went off.