Where Clarinets Go, Treble Follows

The bag should have been the tip-off

_____________________

Well, this is a great relief:

1. Loughner's Ex-Girlfriend Says He Was "Normal"
   The alleged gunman's teenage sweetheart said they practiced clarinet together.
   Read original story in The Wall Street Journal | Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

Of course, clarinet-playing may seem to say "wholesome American fun" to large swath of the country, but there is a good kind of crazy, and a bad. True, Benny Goodman had his Hotsy Totsy Gang, but it didn't get any crazier than a wild rendition of "Sing, Sing, Sing". Woody Allen is another clarinet alum who didn't exactly bring honor to the legions of those who played the reedy instrument, but he wasn't a stone-cold killer, either.

Ruth Buzzy said "Sex and violins" were the downfall of civilization; perhaps it is actually the clarinets we should watch out for.