Tonight was gorgeous. On a last minute wim I decided to see the Regina Spektor/Ani DiFranco concert. I had to catch the bus to the music center on 20th which just happened to be perfectly located 2 blocks from my favorite sushi joint. So I rode bike there and then skipped in for some roll specials. I love going in when there's no one else. It's a tiny cute little place and the guy is so nice. Today he was smling at my tattoo and asked if it was a firebird. His first firebird he's seen he said in his asian accent. cute.
Tonight added to my count of being caught in the rain. I always seem to be biking. My next interaction might need it's own blog, and if I find the pictures of me with this random guy in the Philly Style weekly magazine, it probably will get it's own blog. I'll save that story.
The concert was amazing. I mainly went for Regina Spektor and she was adorable and stunning to watch. Ani was an added bonus.
The bus ride back though, was actually the highlight. An older gentleman sat next to me. I had seen him on the ride there talking to himself the whole way. He started a conversation with no one really in particular, kind of out loud in the way that makes you think "ok, don't make eye contact and it won't be directed at you" But I thought, "eh, who cares, I'll entertain him a bit"
Let me first describe him, cute as the whole thing was. Thick glasses which made it impossible to see his eyes. A slight stutter with sentences a little off in the mind but not so much that he didn't converse, just mild rambles. He talked about all the concerts he's seen there and how 51 years ago he paid 33$ for a month membership and now it's that per show. I asked him how else it's changed and he said, "well, the hair around me is getting a lot grayer when I go to symphonies" He told me about who was playing and composing and what year it was in. I said one of my sorrows was to never see Pavarotti live, he said he's seen him 6 times. Then listed where, what year, and who he sang with. He was in the audience when Shostokovitch was there at a performance. I couldn't keep all the singers straight but he said they finally let a woman sing in the 70's who they wouldn't 20 years earlier. I asked why they wouldn't and he said, "because she was black, of course. Discrimination" He told me how he found her picture signed in the photographer's frame work in a thrift store and paid 10$ when it was worth 1,000$. We talked about Nadja Sonnenberg and Magdalena Kozena. He asked me how long I'd been in Philladelphia. He lived there his whole life. My stop came up and I thanked him and told him it was nice talking to him, and he said to enjoy Philadelphia and that there was so much to see and I should see everything. I unfortunately didn't get his name and I would have stayed on the bus but my bike was parked so had to get off. He was probably a Herbert or Walter. I should have asked. I should have made him my museum friend.
This conversation rivaled the man who lived with rocks in New Mexico.
Everyone needs to look out for their coke bottle glassed conversation. That is good life.
Here is dog's good life.
