B is for...Plenty

The Alphabet; Day 2
I actually had two ideas for “B,” as two of my favorite things start with that letter. The first was Bass, the instrument, not the fish. You see, years ago, a friend & I watched the 10-hour Beatles Anthology, and decided that we would start a band. He was confident that he could sing, and I could play several chords on the guitar. After about a year, we realized that bassists are hard to find, and I wasn't shaping-up to be any kind of guitar hero. Through the miracle of financing, I got a bass & amp and, lo and behold, I was pretty good at it. Playing bass also gave me an ear for what other bassists were doing, and I totally fell in love with the instrument, and what it could do for a song.

The other favorite thing is books. I can't walk past a book shelf without looking at what's there. I love the exposure to fresh ideas, new information, and how woven words can evoke the nature of an event, but also the emotional flavor, and layers of effects on people involved.

Then something else happened today. It was a crazy day in retail land, but most people were in good spirits. Then I saw a Regular, and we greeted one another warmly. I'll call her 'Betty,' to protect her privacy, but she does have a “B” name, so I'm not cheating. We spoke a little about how Calli is doing, and she had to share that her son had been accepted into Harvard. She and her husband were simply giddy, and I was struck with the beauty of the moment. Here we were, virtual strangers with a passing familiarity, and we took a moment to celebrate each others children! I'm glad that that's the most memorable part of a positively exhausting day!