He Revved...Then He Resisted

I promised Tim (or perhaps threatened him) that this story would someday be a Blog. Let's see how long it takes him to find out that I carried through!

Let me preface by giving you a little context for my story. You see, not only are Tim and I musicians by trade, but musicians who are completely absorbed right now with trying on a whole range of literature and styles. We are constantly listening and looking for musical ideas. We listen to the radio differently, seek out song kernels in stories that we hear, and tinker with any music we can get our hands on to see if might fit a scene that we're writing, or if it can be reconstructed in some interesting way.

Did I mention getting our hands on music? Where might one do that? Ah, yes..how about one of the largest sheet music stores IN THE COUNTRY. Colony Music Store. Where is that, you ask? Why, in Times Square, my friend! The heart of broadway! A mecca, if you will, for musical artists. Musical artists faaaaaaaar from home and wrapped in the creative frenzy of a New York business trip. Away from everyday routines. Bursting with streams of consciousness, notepads chock full with the frantic scribbles of new ideas. Vulnerable to purchases that they might not normally splurge on.

This...I PROMISE you...was the state of being that BOTH of us were in as we made our way to Colony. It was late in the conference. We were on a full tear. We actually were feeling so primed, that I made a half-serious, half-joking little remark about the danger of going to this store. Tim, as I recall, chuckled lightly as he brushed aside the comment. And then the full revving began. "Yes," he said, "but when else do we have this opportunity? And, it's only once a year, right?" He (and I) mused about the variety of music we might look for. We pre-rationalized what we might spend. I believe that he mentioned something along the lines of it being a "critical time" in the creative output of Plunge! Cabaret and a justified business expense. And then we entered the store.

Things get a little blurry for me here. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush...a left-brain brown out of sorts. I remember starting out together and I do remember starting a list of potentials, but quickly there were more books in hand than there were books on list. Tim offered to hold some for me. A gesture that I first took for a chivalrous act. It was, in fact, an act designed to deceive!! To empty my hands and give my poor, over-stimulated brain the impression that I was proceeding reasonably!!!! An act that simultaneously made it seem to anyone who glanced that HE was also stocking up on purchases!!!!!! But I digress...

We drifted to different aisles. This is good. On my own, the impulses snowballed. I kept grabbing books - trying to reason my way out of them but inevitably concluding that each one was an irresistable gem! A must have! After a few aisles, I was having some trouble breathing calmly. I knew that I was headed out of control and I sought out my friend. He was not far from where I had left him (this should have raised my suspicions.) He had books in his hand (see above) and, in my half-mad state, I assumed he was buying. I dragged him about to 3 or 4 displays to show him books that were tugging at me but that I was trying to resist. He laughed (with me, I thought.)

Finally, I knew we had to go. I started assessing the damage - picking up each book and reconsidering it. One by one, they went into the purchase pile. Then...Tim started handing me the books that he was carrying for me. Just feeding them into the stream, casually...as though he were only carrying them for me. That's when I remembered that he had been carrying them for me.

I believe his pile shrunk to two books. One was something that might have been for our use and the second was a wafer-thin supplement for a piano instruction course that he was using for a student. My world started to get very, very clear. And then... (I'll pause here for a deep, restorative breath) ... He put the first book back. I'll just let this moment sink in for a bit. He looked at it and, with a small shrug, decided that it wasn't really necessary. He walked back to its bin and calmly (I won't go so far as to say smugly) returned it to it's proper place. He then looked at me (with my pile of...oh, I don't know, 11 books?) and said...and I quote..."You ready?"

He said this while standing with his "Play Piano Today! Level 2" book (or whatever it was). He was clear-eyed, calm, and happy. He didn't seem to sense that anything might be not as it should be. Then he noticed that I was a little frozen in my place. That my nostrils were a little flared. I might have twitched slightly. I took in the situation, mentally reviewed my purchases, gave a swift little nod, and a made a sharp turn for the cash register. I bantered sharply and playfully with the cashier about the dangerous nature of Colony and how glad I was that it was only once a year. He was a funny, good-natured man. I spent my $200+ dollars (emphasis on the +) and out we went.

The walk back to the hotel was intensely hilarious. I skewered him within the first few steps and parried his every attempt to soften or skirt what had happened. He admitted that he was fully involved in the revving process. He admitted that he, somehow, fully resisted. He could not explain his actions. He tried to defend himself, but was caught in the cross fire. You see, had he revved and then indulged, I obviously would understand that mentality. And, truly, had he NOT revved and then resisted, I also would have understood. Even possibly respected!

But no.
My friends.
The crux lies in this.
He revved.
Oh!! Did he rev!!
And THEN he resisted.

-written by jen