A Yo Yo Surprise...

A while ago, I was doing my usual walk routine in McKinley Park. I came across this scene and wondered "What's going on?" I interrupted my walk which NEVER happens and one of these folks told me Yo Yo Ma was doing a surprise "pop-up" performance.


Well hell, that's cool, I'll stick around for that. The anticipation was building.

After I waited 20 minutes he shows up accompanied by his pianist, some high school kid. Imagine putting THAT on your musical resume! "Yeah, I played with Yo Yo Ma!"

They started playing John Lennon's song "Imagine." At first the pianist was showing off his stuff very nicely, a tasteful rendition of the song with Yo Yo Ma accompanying him in the background. Then they reversed roles and Yo Yo played the melody. It was transcendent, I got goose bumps, he was that sensitively expressive. 


At the end of the song, he introduced the pianist and his parents to loud applause. And then Yo Yo Ma's assistant took his cello and they began departing.


My immediate reaction was "HEY WAIT!! WTF! One goddamn song? That's bullshit!" 


Then I caught myself. 


Life had given me me a totally unexpected gift. The music touched me to my core and I shared this moment with other humans whom I will never meet. It was a beautiful thing and rather than being grateful, my first reaction was I WANT MORE!!!



Apparently Yo Yo Ma was doing six of these performances around the city, hence the time constraints. How cool is that?



This is a sad realization: It is so easy for me to be an asshole.




Gotta watch myself..... constantly