2007-12-18 Words, Nordstrom

2007-12-18, Nordstrom

I don’t remember whether it was last year or the year before, but I was in a hurry.
The sky-bridge to the mall sends everyone through Nordstrom and, as I entered the store,
I heard the music. I slowed down because it was … familiar? It was as if the individual
notes of the song were floating down, out of the overhead speakers like little soap
bubbles falling through the air.

The tune was Greensleeves, being played on the piano. It was beautiful. I don’t
think that my mouth actually dropped open. I felt stunned, but my feet kept moving. As
I rounded the escalators I saw a young lady playing the piano. This was instead of the
regular player, who was an older gentleman. I had never seen this young lady before.

My feet slowed down and stopped while I listened for another minute. I felt this
sudden urge to empty my pockets and give her all my money if only she would keep on
playing. I suppressed the urge to go over and sit beside her on the piano bench. I looked
to see if she had a card or some other identification on the piano, but I didn’t see
anything. Being in a hurry, I turned and walked away. Slowly. Listening.

I never saw her again. But ever since then, as I pass through Nordstrom, and hear
the regular guy playing the piano, it reminds me of the time I heard an angel play. And I
remember how the notes seemed to drift down from the sky, as if they were snowflakes
drifting down from heaven itself. And I regret that I was in a hurry, that I was too much
the adult and not enough the child, to stop and say, “Thank you.”

So, this is me, stopping and saying, Thank you, Nordstrom, for having real people
play your pianos, and for allowing those people to share the miracle of music with others.
Maybe someday in the future, you’ll be able to afford it again. And someday, maybe
you’ll find another angel to play for you.