Okay, let me remedy that.

I just realized that last post wasn't very fair.

I really just spent a couple of paragraphs referencing things that likely no one beside me noticed.

I have recognized the error of my ways, and to atone for my misdeeds I shall write a little about how I played music at the seniors' home today.

David Chen and Annie took turns astounding everyone gathered. During David's third piano piece, I noticed that the lady on my left was humming along to the music and moving her fingers.

"Did you used to play that piece?"
"Oh, I used to play a lot of piano. Lots of piano, but I've forgotten it. I've forgotten everything."
"Would you like to play for us? We'd love to hear you."
"Oh, not today, not now. I couldn't play now."

Then Desilets decided that we needed someone else to play (because, you know, Annie and David aren't good enough). Which narrowed it down to me and Kim. Guess who had to get up to play.

Right.

I sat down at the bench. Confused thoughts hurtled through my mind. The most prominent one, of course, was What am I doing?
Hey, relax, put in a corner of my mind. Nobody cares how good your technique is. What matters here is that you play from the heart, that you make this piano sing with emotion.

It didn't quite word it that way, because when the corners of my mind talk to one another, they don't usually put it into words.

I smiled. "A lot of you probably know this," I said. You probably know it too. The nocturne in e-flat major. I smiled again, as if life were incredibly funny and beautiful.

I started playing.

I didn't slaughter the Chopin the way I had feared. I made a few ridiculous mistakes (eg. switching octaves at the end? I was forced to make something up, and it was pretty obvious. To Chen, at least) but it wasn't awful. In fact, it sounded pretty good. In fact, it sort of flowed. In fact, I felt as though I were seeing, hearing, the piece in a whole new fresh different way, like if I were looking through it or through something at it, from way up in the sky. Not like that piece doesn't always make me feel that way.

It's impossible for me to describe the thoughts that danced through my head right then, but I was fully aware of what other people in the room were saying. "They're all good," said one lady, as I began. "You liked that, didn't you?" another asked her friend at the end. I was worried at one point that the piece would be too long, and I stumbled, but I (sort of) found my feet again. Chen was nice, and said it was good...as did the nice lady on my right, with whom I got along rather well.

I'm not a terribly good pianist, certainly not up to David's level. Normally, I blow most things I have to do in front of people, especially a smaller group of people I know well. Sometimes, though, strange and even beautiful things happen.

Kim and I were the best, though.