Saw Bryan Bowers once finish a song and sort of half-drop the autoharp **CLUNK** to the stage..The audience went "ohhhhh...."...and Bryan said, "awww...don't worry..I used to treat the harps like babies...then one night I was playing in a bar for drinks, and some drunk got nasty and came at me with a broken bottle...so I hit 'im with the 'harp! Never hurt it at all! So now I don't worry"

So it seems to ME that every musican ought to carry an autoharp...whether they play it or not! Look at the defensive possibilities! We could have training courses and issue a license to carry a concealed 'harp..(which MIGHT have saved Joe's car!)

(saw in a newsgroup..(not music oriented) a message from someone who has one of those auto-signatures to his email and posts..it said..."It's alright, son- you don't need to point that concertina at people in here...no one's going to hurt you."....maybe it could be adapted....