Back in my college days at the University of South Carolina, on warm days (not hot) I would occasionally take my guitar to one of the more serene shady parts of the campus and play and sing, just for my own pleasure. One of the nicest spots was right outside the College of Music. On more than one occasion, I would be playing this or that folk song and someone would come out of the building, instrument case in hand, and would stop and take out his/her violin, oboe, or whatever and join in. Then there would be another, and another, and before I knew what was happening I was being accompanied by a fairly large orchestra. Sometimes the upper windows of the building would open and someone would join on the pipe organ, or the carillon would pick it up in the adjoining chapel's bell tower. Trying to get them to stop was out of the question. When I finished a song, someone would say "How about 'Midnight Special' again?", which they knew was one of my favorites. I didn't know whether to be grateful or humble or what, and after a few songs I usually just got up and left, to a chorus of "Let's do this again" or "When will you be back?". I do look back on those days with some pleasure, but at the time it was a pain in the ass.

Chet