August 11, 2008

• The 2 Muscians

  It wasn’t rush hour yet but the subway train was slowly
  getting busy.  I noticed this young lady
  who had just gotten on to the train.  She
  looked a bit bohemian with a colorful scarf loosely wrapped around her
  neck.  She was very focused on her
  reading.  As she turned, I noticed the
  title page – it was sheet music “Claude Debussy Douze Etudes for Piano”.  As she sprawled into her seat, she was very
  focused on the sheet music.  Her fingers
  were playing an imaginary piano.  I
  glanced at the sheet music from across the aisle.  It looked like parallel tracks with black
  dots that went up and down.  In some
  areas, it was pockmarked with notes with curvy lines across the top, other
  sections was simply a dark line going up and then going back down again.  She focused intently, fingers silently moving
  along in what I imagine was a beautiful piano music.  I wondered what it would have sounded like.  As she turned the page, I marveled at how
  pianists could memorize these complex pieces of work.
  
  
  

  The subway came to my stop and I noticed she was also
  getting off at the same stop.  When I got
  to the bus platform, there were only a couple of people at bus platform.  This could only mean my bus had just
  left.  I glanced around and settled in for
  the usual 10 to 15 minute wait.  A
  disheveled man, probably in his late 50’s, rough complexion and tired eyes was talking
  to himself in a low, hoarse and nasal voice. 
  He kept pacing back and forth.  The
  others waiting for the bus were warily watching him whenever he walked by.  His soliloquy soon expanded into a song.  It had a Caribbean
  accent and his mumbling made it tough to understand him.  I thought I heard “give me the money…” being
  repeated several times.  

  The bus soon came and he made his way to the back of the
  bus.  He sat on a bench of 3 seats by
  himself.  His singing and appearance
  guaranteed him a lot of space.  No one
  ventured back there.  I noticed the
  pianist was also in the same bus but she didn’t have her music out this time.  By now, the singing was almost like a chant
  coming from the back of the bus.  I
  wondered what effect this was having on the pianist.  Her stop came quickly and she hopped
  off.  The singer got off a couple of
  stops before mine and soon all I heard was just the sound of the engine.   

  So that was my encounter with the two “musicians”, both with
  very different backgrounds and with music swirling around their heads.  I just wished I heard the pianist too. 

  • 1:03 AM
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