This isn't that serious a mistake, but one that can creep up on you. Our little group was playing in an open courtyard from eleven to noon, and we had placed ourselves in the shade of an old wall, noting that by the time the set was over we'd have our back against the wall to avoid the very hot sun as it crept to its zenith (since the heat torques the strings out of tune).

Sure enough, our lady singer, who plays guitar and dobro, left her steel dobro bar sit in the sun for about 15 minutes. When she picked it up to play she nearly burnt her hand. In commenting about her discomfort in front of the fairly straight-laced audience, I unwittingly uttered, "Well, Tammi, you'd better take that bar and put it where the sun don't shine !" Only as the words left my lips did I realize the other implication. I guess the lesson is to think twice, say once.