[Oe List ...] The Event and The Story

[R.Salvatore Caruso]

 Dear colleagues:

I appreciate what Jack wrote to kick off this unique string around our chance encounter with the wonder of an 87 year old/young elder concert pianist.  You bump into many types of people on " Pearl Street", which for me is a metaphor of living/dancing on the edge where youth and elder and all in between mingle.  There are among these groups many who are suffering from the huge economic/cultural disruptions of our time.   Being mindful with each encounter is to quote one teacher of mine ( Thich Nhat Hanh) "Still Mind, Peaceful Heart" a pathway to real engagement. We found ourselves on Pearl Street ( this street/walking mall of about 6 blocks reminds me of San Fran in the 70/80's or the St. Charles bridge in Prague.)  where all is possible, where dreams get realized or shattered.  A place where you can meet the profundity in the other which is part of you. 

Magdalena ( a biblical name from Mary Magdalene, an earth mother for sure  ), was an elder to behold.  What do elders do anyway?  This is from the Bill McKibbin,the environmentalist of 350.org: " Elders don't tell you what you must do, they say what they must say."  Say it straight out in the moment without any  discrimination.    I sensed  that Magdalena's story about being an authentic concert pianist was true. She heard the honky tonk pianist , Charlie a regular, playing while lying on his back on a rock. She kept saying she loved playing.   I began  encouraging her, asking her if she would like to play something.   A slight hesitation and then a big yes.  We all gathered, courage in hand, with our little 95 lb heavyweight to visit Charlie. This was his first set of the evening with only a few bucks in his collection jar; and only a few gathered to hear him...A slow evening. 

Enter us, Magdalena in hand, bright eyed and full of hope to play. At first Charlie wasn't too sure. (He gets a lot of " concert pianists" who would like to hit the key board)..I  told him our/her story straight out and he opened his arms to our new teacher. The transformed one beamed as she got behind an out of tune piano. Her peppered hair and smile asked what shall I play? We urged, "Play what you want". She went thru some kind of mental menu to come up with something we might all enjoy. An energetic Spanish tune which we could clap to...Now  Charlie was a believer and urged her too play more.  She did another classical piece like Clare de Lune very soothing.    Ready to stop, we all urged her to do one more. Ah she said out loud.. And now a little Chopin...What a rap up to our impromptu concert on Pearl St. By now there was huge crowd taking pictures and stuffing money into the jar.  ( Charlie is now on rocks very happy) and Magdalena sparkling, ready to fly back to where she had come from.   As we got up Charlie asked me if we could come back later for his 2nd set with our Angel. I said it was unlikely but would pass on his sentiments..

The meaning of the story inside this event for me is about elder-hood. How do we pass along the next generation wisdom. Wisdom that not only comes from the mind but equally from the heart in the spirit of non discrimination...

And transformation was witnessed and experienced by the 6 of us directly in the cast...And then of course many who stopped to witness the event... An elder not written off but performing from her heart..From her stored up wisdom.. And for those that could see her hands they were gnarled and molded to a wide span so she could reach all the keys. What recall.. There is no perfection except in its wonder, it was perfect.... And it ends with an applause after I introduce her to the crowd.. She smiles takes a few steps with us and then disappears into the night....Her apt complex is only about 4 blocks away...It is our intent to go visit her.. Who knows perhaps we have new show to offer Pearl Street. Then again let's wait for the conditions to be right for what else could arise..

So yes Arise and behold the wonder in your life encounters.

Be well.

Salvatore( thanks to Dianne for editing).

PS. A little gift to all on Mindfulness practices to stay in the moment: " How to Train A Wild Elephant and other adventures in Mindfulness"..

On Aug 18, 2013, at 1:02 PM, Jack Gilles wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
> 
> Thought you'd enjoy a story of a unique encounter from Friday night.
> 
> Judy and I were visiting Salvatore Caruso and Dianne Greenwald in Boulder for a night after our stay in Denver. They took us to "Pearl Street", a section of town that is just pedestrian with all sorts of places to eat, street performers, fancy shops and just a great place to 'people watch'. The three of sat on a bench while Salvatore found a parking place. Shortly an older lady came and sat next to me. I said hi and we struck up a conversation. Soon Salvatore joined us and I could tell by her accent she was hispanic. She was from Mexico City, but had lived in the States for many years. She asked us to guess how old she was, and she looked late 60's or early 70's. She is 87 and what energy she had! She told us she takes hikes in the hills and she really takes care of herself. Then she told us her name is Magdalena and she was a concert pianist. Her kids are also musicians and play in different parts of the country. She lives in a retirement community in Boulder that had a pian
> o in the lobby which was neglected so she gave them her piano which she said was worth $200,000! We weren't sure if she was telling the truth, but nearly was a street performer who regularly plays an old honky tonk piano where he lays on a rock and plays for the crowd. 
> 
> We asked if she wanted to play and she said yes. So we took her over and asked if he'd let her play. At first he said no, saying he often gets 'nuts' who want to play, but after standing for awhile while he played he finally got up and invited her to play. She got on the rock and then she started to play. Although the piano was out of tune she proceeded to play an incredible medley of fantastic songs; latin, jazz, and classical. It was absolutely amazing! A crowd gathered and started to put money in his jar as she just played and played. You could see her agile fingers fly across the keys. The player just sat and let her play on, enjoying his break and loving what was happening. After about 15 minutes she was done and everyone applauded. 
> 
> So life, through a chance encounter, produced for all a moment of mystery and magic. Clearly a visit by an angel!
> 
> Grace & Peace,
> 
> Jack
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