Monday, April 4, 2011

Private Concert

I know that I already shared something today, but seriously, does anyone ever have ONLY one interesting thing happen in a single day?? No, I’m just the only one crazy enough to write them down and this is one that must be shared. Sooooo…

I walked to the outdoor market in my neighborhood this morning, because I am having visitors from Minneapolis and we are cooking for them tonight. I wanted fresh everything. So I moseyed on down the street and bought my fruits and veggies, and looked at the other stalls because I could. I can finally do more than point and say “si” so shopping is becoming rather enjoyable.

I was walking home when I saw an older woman in a beautifully tailored suit walking ahead of me. She appeared to be conducting an invisible band, and as I got closer (I was about a foot taller than she was, so I naturally cover a lot more ground) I could hear her humming. Quite nicely, too. When I got closer she stopped humming and began singing. Her conducting (I am certain this is what she was doing) became more animated as she lifted her eyes to the balconies above us and really started belting it out.

I smiled, because smiles are safest when you aren’t sure just how stable the other person is. She noticed me, stopped for a moment, and then sang to me alone. Whoever she may have been courting on the balcony apparently couldn’t hold a candle to me. I think she wanted me to sing along, but naturally I didn’t know the words. Yeah, something Italian and probably opera, which is far beyond my capabilities at any time. Eventually she noticed that she was still singing solo and stopped. She looked at me for a second, slightly confused but ready to keep trying. When you are that happy, you don’t let a little thing like me stop you.

What followed was the longest, most poetic and heartfelt praise that I have ever heard for a breakfast. You would think angels had personally flown her sweets in for her that morning, and the chocolate? Apparently almost something to die for, and the cafĂ©? Nectar of the gods, just for her, just this morning. For almost a block she spoke of this breakfast, which I was starting to think I wanted too. We were almost best friends; she talked about herself, and I smiled and nodded and threw in an occasional “oooh” and “aaaaah”. Those go a long way for me in many conversations.

Suddenly she stopped talking and looked to the left. There ahead of us were six quite good looking young men in pretty snappy uniforms. She threw open her arms, greeted them all as if they were her best friends and that’s the last I saw of her. I haven’t been ditched that effectively since high school. A less confident woman would question herself a little bit, but I didn’t sing along, and the boys were awfully cute, so I left the scene as gracefully as possible.

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