Mark, my oldest son, lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and works as a concert sound engineer for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, handing out microphones to individual performers and placing them on or near the various musicians and musical instruments that make up the orchestra. Then he stands by and mixes and tunes the sounds on their way to large loudspeakers and recording devices in the concert hall.

On Sundays, he does the same sort of thing for the musicians and choir at a mega church right there in Jacksonville.

On his last visit, he told of the following exchange.

So, there I am, sitting at the airport, one foot on my bag and just waiting for them to call my flight up north to visit my dad and mom, see if there are any lobsters left at the end of a long, long summer and are there any steamers left in the bay, and along comes this gentleman.

He stops, hesitates for a moment, and then asks, Why is your hair so long, and what’s the little pony tail and ribbon in the back for? Why do you do that?

My answer was honest and straight to the point.

When folks see you, wearing that very nice, charcoal gray business suit with vest, a little white peeking out of your cuffs, just enough to match your white collar and necktie and a fancy, leather briefcase, they think, “Well now, that looks like someone I can trust with my money.”

When folks see me with my long hair tied up in a little pony tail and ribbon in the back they think: “Well now, that looks like someone I can trust with my music.”

Orrin Frink is a Kennebunkport resident. He can be reached at ofrink@gmail.com.