Surprise Singer

Tomorrow the piano movers will come early. I just wanted to make sure everything was ready to go, so I popped over to the old apartment to check. My neighbor from kitty corner across the hall was sitting on the steps as he often does, smoking a cigarette and watching his little long-haired daschund wander about as far as the leash would allow. I was always slightly uneasy around him, not that he ever did anything but engage me in conversation. The neighbor lady across the hall gladly chatted with him, her loneliness dripping from every syllable, her interest obvious.

I, on the other hand, tried to be polite, but was definitely NOT interested. His world was not one I wished to explore. "You still here?" he asked, flicking the ashes from his cigarette. "Yes," I answered, explaining about the piano movers coming tomorrow.

"That's the part I will miss the most about you leaving," he answered. "What's that?" I asked. "Your music."

"Oh. I hope I wasn't too obnoxious. I know when I get playing I lose track of time."

"No, no," he assured me. "I graduated from Eastman with a degree in voice and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing some decent music." I nearly fainted. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought the man had any interest in music much less a degree from Eastman! Turns out he quit singing decades ago when he got married because his now ex-wife insisted that he get a paying job (go figure). He had once been a member of the local German Men's Choir and had toured in Europe and done all sorts of other concert tours.

You could have knocked me over with a feather. I invited him to come and sing with my church choir if he wanted to get back into singing, but he declined since he had been raised Roman Catholic and wouldn't want to be disloyal even though he hadn't attended church for years (ex wife again). He did think perhaps he would audition for the German choir though.

I hope he does!