Skip to main content

Music After Midnight

The smoke from the fireworks began to subside and the crowd slowly dispersed.  Before long, only a small number of the tens of thousands gathered there earlier remained.   Midnight had come and gone and a new year – a new millennium – had officially begun.  Yet, here I was, still standing along the reflecting pool on the National Mall, waiting for the program to resume.

The concert had aired live on stations across the country, ending in an extravagant fireworks display along the Mall.  As far as those watching on television – and many of those gathered on the Mall – were concerned, that was it.  The plans for a post-fireworks encore were never actually confirmed, simply rumored.  Those of us who stayed did so purely on faith, or maybe it was curiosity.

For a while, nothing happened.  The stage remained empty and revelers continued to stream away from the Mall.  Then, more than thirty minutes later, just as my friends and I had resigned ourselves to leaving, a single spotlight focused on the stage.  There stood the rumored encore, an internationally popular rock star with nearly twenty years of hits to his name.  He sang one of his group’s slower-paced hits, at half of its typical speed.  Then, he walked away and the stage again was empty.

With that, my friends and I, too, turned and walked away.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Only In Seattle

    It was a slow afternoon at the tiny Seattle coffee shop.  As I opened the door, a group of three school-aged boys ran in front of me.  Each of the boys was lugging an overloaded backpack with them.  They obviously had just left the private school a couple of blocks down the street.  As I perused the menu, the three boys placed their orders, all the while joking with one another.  The first two each requested a pastry and a glass of water.  The third boy studied the menu a bit longer before deciding.        “Umm. . . I’d like a tall espresso, double shot, please.”          The cashier giggled a bit, thinking that her young customer was just repeating something he had heard adults order. After a few seconds, she jokingly said to him, “Alright. . . whatever.”        Noticing that the boy seemed serious, she looked puzzled.  Then, sh...

Time Enough For Courtesy

       Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.                                                   ~   Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson wrote these words in the nineteenth century, more than 130 years ago.  It was well before the time of e-mail and texts and instant messages.  At that time, even the telephone was still something of a curiosity.  Yet, when I came across this quote recently, I was struck by how it is as relevant today as it was during Emerson’s lifetime. Thanks to technology, people all over the world can communicate with one another.  All it takes is a few seconds.  Technology has totally revolutionized the way business is done and the way our lives are lived....

Catch A Cab

We had been walking for about forty-five minutes, making our way from Manhattan’s South Street Seaport to the Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. When we were within fifteen blocks of our destination, some of my companions decided that we should complete our journey by cab. Despite my attempts to convince them to keep walking, they were insistent. The trip that ensued was a true New York experience. After a few minutes of trying, one of my companions was able to hail a cab. However, we wanted to go north. The cab that stopped was going south. It did not seem to matter, though, as my companions still got in the cab. One person sat in the front while I slipped into the backseat, between the other two. Hardly before the doors could close, the driver had fought his way into Manhattan traffic. Without warning, he took a sharp right turn onto a side street and began to head north, steadily increasing his speed. Within seconds, the cab was weaving a...