My Previously Unrecorded Biggest Regret

In a rare moment this morning our ipod silenced itself from The Sound of Music Soundtrack and Simon and Garfunkel filled the room with the sweet sounds of The Boxer.  Sophia, slightly infatuated with Julie Andrews stopped in the middle of a delicate spin and tried to switch genres.

Tuesday, July 5, 2004

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were making a scheduled stop in Austin, Texas on their final world tour.  I was 5 months pregnant with Sophia and vehemently told Jason I would be too fatigued after "working" all day to drive 1 hour to Austin, sing as loud as I could to each song, return home and then go to "work" the next day.  

The office..... somewhere over the rainbow where I could enjoy my morning hot chocolate and breakfast taco in silence, use the facilities in peace as nature intended, have adult conversations and most astonishingly, be rewarded handsomely from a financial perspective for my contributions.  

To recap, seeing a concert, pregnant on a "work" night was just too much. 

December 24, 2007

I am presented with tickets to see Mr. Art Garfunkel LIVE at the Magestic Theatre in San Antonio on January 12, 2008.  The Magestic is a breathtakingly quaint venue of historical significance to the city.  I was 3 months pregnant and by this time had acquired a realistic understanding of the word fatigue and nothing was going to stop me from being in attendance. 

 Now remember,  I am a marketer, so advertising a tour as your "last" tour in 2004 does not throw me into a panic.  I was certain Mr. Paul Simon would be accompanying Art as a surprise specifically for me.

Similar to my anticipation surrounding Sophia's piano lesson, we were so early for the concert that we decided to enjoy a non alcoholic beverage at a corner cafe.  I was astonished at all the elderly people walking past.  I could barely keep up my end of a conversation with Jason because of all the glorious distractions in my peripheral line of site.  Silver haired, smiling, dressed up in nylons and heels and full of wisdom from a life well lived, they crowded into the Majestic.

I suppose it didn't occur to me that Paul and Art had captured the heart of any generation other than my own....until we were seated and began to take it all in.  Most of the patrons, we would guess, were in their late fifties, early sixties with a nice scattering of those gems in their 70's and 80's.   In my opinion, a larger city, such as Chicago or Austin would've had a better than average representation of my age bracket.  

Jason gave a chuckle and quietly speculated the potential partying these folks had done if they were Simon and Garfunkel fans back in the day. 

Unintentionally, he had gotten us 3rd row seats, right of center.  Unnecessarily, but filled with the zest of a loyal fan, Jason was on ticketmaster.com the moment they went up for sale.  We ended up being seated next to a couple about our parents age.  As we scanned the venue, we gave a knowing wave to few couples born in the seventies... acknowledging our shared appreciation of the artist.  It was quite refreshing to be amongst such a diverse group of people all sharing a common interest.  Reminds me of the warm, peaceful feeling I had yesterday watching the cameras capture the sea of people at the Inaguration.  

Mr. Garfunkel emerged.  My first thought was....Oh dear, the drugs have weathered this poor gentleman, while enjoyable I'm sure, the late 1960's have left their mark in history.  He opened with The Boxer and up on our feet we rose.  Of course, my intention was to begin my somewhat stiff dance moves that time has allowed me to embrace, but I was also wanting to peek back around the stage and get a glimpse of Paul before he joined in.

Not surprising to Jason, Paul Simon never took the stage.

Note to self:  If two talented gentleman over the age of 65 announce a final world tour....take it at face value.

  Shocking to us both....NOBODY ELSE STOOD UP.  

 This is not the Sarah Brightman classical concert, this is Art Garfunkel.  We sheepishly took our seats and I, of course, sang the lyrics too loud.

I can't finish this post without giving this sweet man credit.  The concert was phenomenal.  He wisely took a young bride a few years back and has a 2 year old son.  He mentioned that it was bedtime for his baby in New York and proceeded to sing him a lullaby he had written.  He dedicated a tremendous amount of time to vocally praising Paul for being the brains and talent behind Simon and Garfunkel as the song writer.  During his last song, he danced a little too hard and was clearly winded.  

He never did come out for an encore.

As the concert ended, the couple next to us leaned over and said, "Wow, you two weren't even born when Simon and Garfunkel were popular.  I bet you didn't even know a lot of these songs."

Jason respectively responded, "He's my Uncle."