Almost Heaven

I interrupt this normal, average Wednesday to tell you a REALLY COOL STORY.

I usually stay at my internship fairly late on Wednesdays - I tend to get home between 7 and 8 p.m. Tonight, I was heading back in the dark, when most people are eating dinner, and as I asked for Oli's ukulele tonight but have no carrying case, I was swinging it around a bit, eager to get home and play. I decided to go a bit out of my way and take the steps instead of climbing the more direct hill to my flat. As I approached the bottom of the stairs, I heard a most delightful sound that I soon found was a man sitting on the ground, huddled under a blanket and playing an Irish whistle. Thus, our story begins.

My usual policy toward street musicians/buskers and giving money is as such: if I...
a.) especially like their music,
b.) stop to watch at all,
c.) have money in my pocket or hand already, or
d.) can get money out in the time (between spotting/hearing them and passing them),
I give a few pence/cents. I know that that sounds like I throw a lot of money at people in the street, but quite honestly, none of the above circumstances fall into place very often. Tonight, however, the sounds of the flute carried down to my ears all the way back in the big open square at the foot of the steps, cheering me from the inside out. Despite the fact that I was carrying my bag and a ukulele, I fumbled around for some change deep in my pockets. By the time I got within a few feet of the man, I was ready with about 75p.

As I tossed it into the hat he had lain in front of him, he said, "Cheers!" and then, as he spotted the ukulele, asked, "Do you play that?" This led to a conversation about ukuleles, Irish whistles, our heritages, West Virginia, music, and homelessness that eventually wound its way back to John Denver. I turned to go up the steep stairs to my flat, filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside that had its roots in my connecting with a complete stranger, and the sounds of "Country Roads" led me home.


(I am so glad that I tossed those coins into that tiny knit hat.)

Craziness!

I realize that I've only been away for a few days, but I want to apologize for not having kept up this blog better, because this has been such an important week! So much has happened!

Alright, I might be exaggerating a bit. As I mentioned in my last post, I have, in fact, started both of my classes as well as my internship, and there's lots to tell about all of those things. But beyond that, I've just had some clever ideas (well, I think that they're clever, at least - however, it will be for you to judge) for various postings and series to start. Many entries are in their ideological and/or editing stages, so be on the look-out!

Truly, the reason that I have been away is this:

ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL?!

No, I did not buy a replacement ukulele with UK plugs (joke...maybe you have to be here. Anyway.) It's a bit of a long story, but I'm borrowing it sporadically from Ollie, a guy at work. And I love him for it! (Pretty sure my flatmates hate him...and me now...I've probably played for a combined 7 hours in the past two days.) I have missed my uke more than I'd imagined. But fear not! My calluses are quickly returning, my nail polish is quickly chipping, and I've even learned "Loch Lomond" to get into the Scottish spirit.

So, that's what been taking up all of my would-be blogging time. Good thing I don't have much homework!

I'll be working on those blogs this weekend - but for now, I'm going to head to bed, because a group of us is visiting St. Andrews tomorrow! I will, of course, be reporting back on this matter.