Note to editor:  Hey!  I've been preoccupied with other things and
haven't been reading the recent discussion on the glass harmonica.  I'm
not sure if it qualifies in the MMD as it is an instrument that is
manually played and not mechanical, other than the fact that it has a
shaft that rotates the glass disks in and out of the water.  Still,
having seen one operate I thought I would share this story.  Publish
it if you think it fits with the trend of the discussion thread:

There is a street performer who occasionally shows up in the French
Quarter in New Orleans with a glass harmonica.  The first time I saw
him perform he played wine glasses filled with water.  He used a turkey
baster to "tune" the glasses then started his performance.  His hands
flying furiously over the glasses, he used his fingers to rub the rims
producing the glass harmonica-like sound.  I should mention that he had
about two dozen glasses mounted on a plywood board so that they didn't
move during his rendition of Debussey's Clair de lune.

A year later he was in the street with a genuine, working model of the
famous Franklin harmonica.  I seem to recall that the main shaft was
attached to a foot pedal that resembled an old sewing machines.  The
mechanism was so simple it seemed incredible.  I guess the hard part
is finding glass disks.

Although I always look for him, I haven't seen that street performer on
my last few trips home to the Big Easy.  Perhaps he has moved his show
indoors or on to another town.  Does anyone else remember  seeing him
perform down in Jackson Square?

-Steve Matta