Kind of A Funny Story

The story I am about to tell you transpired over the course of about a week or so:

As many of you know, I am working fairly diligently in trying to better my abilities in playing the various saxophones I am rather average at playing.  A hard part for me with saxophone playing is that I am not good at improvisation, which is a bigger aspect to many forms of saxophone playing.  I am good at reading music and am competent in playing from written music for my clarinets and saxophones, but improvisation is not my forte.  Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation.  For solo playing in the saxophone, improvisation is a good skill to have.  

So, for the past few months, I have sought "solo" pieces of music that I am attempting to play with background music that allows me to improvise as well as read scored musical parts.  You may recall my mentioning "Watermelon Man" as one one of the songs I have been practicing.  Well, several days ago, my wife and I were cooking and baking in the kitchen.  I had on Pandora, this time to my "Crosby, Stills, and Nash" channel.... so all the songs were of a similar quality and era as C,S, &N.  A song I very much love happened up into the queue called "I'll Be Around" and it struck me as a perfect song for me to learn on the saxophone where I could (if I could find the sheet music) play the lyrical line AND also practice more improvisation.  So, I wrote the song down on a small scrap of paper, and because I wasn't sure which group had performed it, I checked on Pandora and realized it was (of course) The Spinners, so I wrote that down on the paper as well and stuck the little scrap of paper in one of the pockets of the cargo shorts I was wearing.  

Fast forward ahead to yesterday.... last night.  I happened to be wearing the same cargo shorts (I had hung them back up after that day as they were still in good shape when I had last worn them in the kitchen).  I headed upstairs to get ready to read in bed for a while.  As is my usual practice, I took things out of my pockets so I could hang the cargo shorts up again and placed my wallet, keys, coins, etc. on the bedroom dresser.  I also found that little errant scrap of paper as well, having forgotten about it back a week ago or so.  It jostled my memory and I placed it atop of my wallet so I would remember to look for the sheet music today.  

About half an hour later, my wife, having stayed up to watch some more news than I had appetite for, came upstairs to the bedroom as well and was fussing around, getting herself ready for bed.  She tends to "tidy" up things a bit while she if fussing around and so she straightened up the dresser a bit, and saw the little scrap of paper...

"I'll be around
          by the spinners"

Then she went into our bathroom for a bit to put on her pajamas.  

When she came out and got into bed, I could tell that she was not in her normal mood, and seemed a bit upset/emotional.  My first thought was that she was probably feeling some of the "Covid-19 Overload" in terms of news that I had spoken of for myself.... which is why I was limiting my news consumption to smaller amounts.  So, I put my book down, and asked her what was wrong.   

She didn't respond right away.  

Now, please keep in mind that my wife is not much of a details person.  I am perhaps too much of a details person.  She does not tend to put into her memory a lot of details of mundane, day-to-day activities.... which is basically the polar opposite of me and sometimes causes consternation between us.... I tend to remember too much minutia, she... very little.  My wife loves music nearly as much as I do, but never puts into her mind the names of songs, the lyrics of songs, nor the writers/singers/players of songs. She lives far more "experiential" than I do.  

So.... we are in bed, and she turns her head to look directly at me, and with a bit of tears brimming in her eyes, she says, "Who wants to meet you by the spinners?  And where are these "spinners"?"

I furrow my brows for a moment..... three or four beats pass.... and then the light bulb illuminates in my mind...... my wife is... feeling jealous!

Mind you.... first, I can assure you I am the most damn faithful person I think most anyone could meet!  There has NEVER been any instance anywhere or anytime where I have ever strayed or even thought of straying from my wife in all the decades we have been married.  Hell, before I met my wife, I only DATED a total of three other women, and I am counting as one of these three the girl I dated as a pimple-faced teen when I was in high school!  Second..... I am a frumpy, grey-haired, furry-faced, old duffer who was only noteworthy by most folks in that I was that "antique, arcane" guy who smoked a pipe.  NO ONE would ever notice or pay any attention to me in any way, shape or form. 

With the realization of what my wife was feeling.... jealousy.... I was both a bit taken-aback by her feelings.... and also at the same time I thought it a bit funny and slightly endearing.... after a few moments she could see the skin around my eyes crinkle and my wide, furry grin start to manifest itself as I looked at her.  

"You do not remember us in the kitchen last week, and I wrote down that song I wanted to play....?"

I saw her searching around in her mind.

"I want to play it on the sax....."  and then I started humming the lyrics of "I'll Be Around".

"The group that sang it..... "The Spinners", I said, starting to laugh in spite of myself.

Then I could see the details did finally mesh in her mind.  The sadness on her face started to change, but the tears then did actually start to fall from her eyes, but in a better way... she was relieved and her face grew pink as she blushed... just before starting to laugh as well.  

We then talked a bit more and snuggled, and.... we both enjoyed some very pleasant intimacy as well.  Not exactly the most likely or logical route to get there.... and jealously is not normally something good..... but the evening was, overall very pleasant and a very loving evening.

And.... the story itself..... funny, poignant and one that I think we (or at least me, as the details person) will remember forever.  

PipeTobacco