Here's a little story for you... it takes place in a sleepy little town...
Time: The week before Christmas, 1991
Place: 19th & L Streets, NW, Washington, DC
Dramatis Personae: The man later to be known as Gunfighter
It was cold. It was early Friday evening, and it was starting to snow.
I was leaving the Bally’s Health Club (that had several years before, been the “Abbey Road” nightclub) and heading for the Farragut West Metro station. I had had a great workout, and was looking forward to my weekend… holed up in my wee humble bachelor apartment. I had a few extra dollars in my pocket that weren’t dedicated to keeping the place warm or lit, or to keeping me fed, so I decided to stop into the Sam Goody’s music shop to see if there wasn’t something new to listen too.
As I entered, I headed straight for the Christmas music. I really love the Christmas season, and to tell you the truth, I was feeling more than just a little lonely. I was just recently divorced, and my ex-wife was taking our daughter to visit with her family over the holiday, and the woman that I was seeing was out of town for some reason that escapes me now. Hearing cheerful Christmas music that would probably be good for me.
As I browsed, I became aware of this really great instrumental music playing in the background. It was all guitar, and all-Christmas… but the two went together better than I could have imagined. As I browsed some more, I decided that the music that I was listening to was the music that I wanted to buy, so I asked the clerk what we were listening to. He showed me the cd, which is the one that you see here: Hymns, Carols, and Songs About Snow, by Tuck Andress.“Tuck Andress?” I thought to myself, “I’ve never heard of him”. I bought the cd anyway. Transaction made, I went back out into the snow with a song in my heart, in a much better mood than I had been in.
I remember my metro ride, that evening, with unusual clarity… I felt like I had a secret. A pleasant secret all my own, and it was right there in my gym bag. You should have seen the suburbanite commuters! Scared to death by the large, young, black man who smiled at them when meeting their eyes! Even then I was used to the fact that most white people in the city were terrified of me (or what they think I represent), but it was actually funny to watch them squirm on this particular night.
I exited the Metro at Eastern market, and made my way through the whitening streets of Capitol Hill. Past the Post Office, the bakery, Hine jr. High School, and the Natatorium. I walked past that really great liquor sore whose name escapes me now (Haydens?), and went on to my apartment at 6th & A streets, S.E. Once inside, I took a shower, changed and made myself a wonderful dinner of frozen flounder fillets (I ate a lot of frozen fish, canned tuna and/or Ramen noodles in those days… I was broke… but in GREAT shape). I spent a very pleasant evening, listening to this cd… I think I might have listend to it three times through. It was a great night for me, and for all of it’s mundanity, it is a favorite Christmastime memories.
Even now, in 2007, when I am not so broke, and not in such great shape, and looking middle age square in the eye, I still love this cd. Listening to it reminds me of a pleasant moment during a not-so-pleasant time in my life.
If you like listening to Christmas music, and are not afraid of trying something a little different, try this… you’ll love it.
No comments:
Post a Comment