Today I walked into an elder care facility and as I was passing through the commons area, piano music! To my left I saw a lady seated in her wheelchair as she was tickling the ivories. I moved close and to her left. As the number ended I applauded heartily. Picture, or hear if you will, the sound of a single person applauding in a large room occupied by only two people of a certain age.
"I love the old songs," the pianist said. "Do you know this one?' as she struck the keys. From the soundboard came the melody, accompanied harmoniously by the surrounding notes. of course, of an old favorite "Has Anybody Seen My Gal" I naturally burst into song on the first line, 'Five-foot two, eyes of blue." She played the number all the way through, and I sang it word perfect to the end. Note I did not say melodically perfect, but it was fun!
Libby took her fingers from the keys and introduced herself. I volunteered my name, and we each had a new friend! I noted that these songs were popular in our day, indicating that we were pretty much of the same generation. A gentleman never asks a lady her age, and I didn't. Nor did she ask me mine, for I suppose a lady doesn't get that personal with a new acquaintance. Suffice it to say that if I were a betting man, and if anyone were to discover our ages, we would be less than five years apart and I would further guess much closer than that.
Well, Libby volunteered that her birth name was Mary Elizabeth, but she had been called Libby all her life and she rather preferred it. She volunteered that she was a retired schoolteacher, and I said I was, too. She then told me that she had a piano in her classroom and she started each day with music as she believed tuning the kiddos in to joyful sounds early in the day ignited a spark of joy that would help carry them through all the day.
"Where did you teach?" I was emboldened to enquire.
"I started in Greenfield, but I moved the second year to Knightstown where I finished my career. Where, may I ask, did you teach?"
"I started in Wilkinson, but after three years moved to the Sheridan school system."
Clearly, we were both astonished. Here are two strangers having a conversation about their parallel lives which were lived in the same time frame, and our early teaching experiences were within ten miles of each other. We shared a few more details of school life, wished each other well, and went our separate ways.
It brought a bit of joy into my life, meeting you, Libby.
