Strangers in the night

The best thing happened to me the other night. I was waiting (in the disgusting heat) for the train at 23rd Street when a man and a little girl got off. I instantly recognized the man. I'm almost positive he's Japanese and he has crazy bleached blonde hair so he's pretty recognizable.

When I worked by Madison Park, I'd eat lunch there or take breaks with my coworkers. Almost every time we'd go to the park, we'd see this blonde Japanese man with his adorable little daughter. She had a bowl cut with short little bangs. The first time we saw them, she was probably about 2 years old, still learning to hold her balance while running around on the bumpy grass. We figured they must live nearby because they seemed to be there every afternoon. It was sweet to see. Eventually, we felt like we were watching her slowly grow up. When I saw her the other night, she looked at least 5 years old, baby fat shed away but still the short little bangs. I couldn't believe it was them. I hadn't seen them in years. I don't think they saw my gaping face, thankfully, and eventually I got myself together and got on the train, smiling all the way home. It's moments like this that make me love the city.

One Les Legend

I just found out sad news... legendary guitarist Les Paul died today at the age of 94. Though he obviously lived a full and seemingly happy life, it still saddened me to see another legend leave us. From what I hear, he had been playing weekly gigs in NYC for the last 20 years. Amazing. Before leaving for Japan, I did a bunch of NYC things I never got to do in case I didn't make it back here again and I'm so glad I did because one of them was seeing Les Paul live at the Iridium. He was amazing, playing completely at ease and with such joy. Scott and I waited in line outside hoping we'd get in and were one of the last to sneak in. We were surprised and pleased that it was still such a hot ticket.

A few things struck us the most. One was how frisky and slightly inappropriate he was with his sassy, much younger, female bassist. His comments were charmingly sexist, if that's possible, and he was pretty lewd! Another thing was how supportive he was of fellow musicians, especially young up-and-coming ones. He invited several unknown talents to the stage to play with him, one of many things that must've helped keep him young. And of course, his amazing talent. So smooth and quick with his fingers. It was truly a thrill to be in the presence of his musicianship.

Luckily, he won't be forgotten. The Les Paul guitar is the most famous electric guitar in the world and he also invented multi-track recording which changed the world of music forever. There was this amazing PBS doc about him I saw a few years ago. I just remember how much Les purely loved music and everything he invented (guitars, recording equipment, etc) was all in the name of that love. He used to record with his wife, Mary, and wanted her to backup her own vocals. Eventually he figured out a way to split tracks so that there were "two" Marys. That kind of simple inspiration is so incredible to me.

Les Paul, you will be missed.

Phantom phone limb

My cell phone was stolen this week. Total bummer. But I now realize how I attached I was to it and how crazy everyone looks on the street clutching onto their phones, texting and checking texts and doing whatever else makes us feel secure and connected. On my way to the police station (I have to do a formal report for my insurance... that was a first and a whole other story!), I felt so aware of people and their phones, it seemed everyone had one and was punching info into it, engrossed in their private worlds, some people with one in each hand! It started to feel really creepy, like some Sci-Fi movie where they show the future and how humans are all reliant on some technology and become all zombie-like. Of course, I'll replace my phone, but I just hope I don't get all zombie again.