Day 9

So, for those of you who don't know, I work in a hotel. I'm only telling you because some of the things I see and the stories I tell will only make sense if you know the setting.


I encounter so many interesting people on my job, but the ones I love the most are the "regulars." To some they are nerve racking, or distractingly peculiar. They're the people that have been here so long that people ignore them as they do a painting that's been on a wall for ages. But I find something special in these people. What people discount as nonsense is usually not nonsense at all. These are people who have accolades for being great in their desired field, or people that have just been alive forever and have seen things that I can't even imagine. So I talk to them, I listen to them, I ask them questions, and I listen to their advice.

On this particular evening I spoke to a gentleman who knows a lot about music. He's quite known, these days, for coming downstairs extremely intoxicated saying his famous line, "Does your mother know you're awake this late?" Usually, I just let him talk, but this time I wanted to have an actual conversation with him. I wanted to know if he could supply me with some musical knowledge. I told him that I've been having some problems finding 16 bars of music that can really express and show what my voice can do. He told me not to think of it that way but to look for a song that I actually like, one that I am passionate about. A song that tugs at your heart, one that you adore because of the music and lyrics, a song that expresses you. And the last thing he said, "...let it be a love song." My parents have always said these same things to me, yet it was still interesting to hear. He told me that he was going to create an incredible list of songs for me. And at 4am, he came downstairs with 3 notepads. I was so excited! He told me he couldn't find the list but he wrote a love song that he wanted to sing me. He actually ended up talking it, but it was beautiful and it was called "All you have to do is be Mine." He told me that I need to sing "Somewhere over the Rainbow," and to make it easier to control my nerves on stage I should sing with someone preferably a pianist who sings and it should be a male. He gave me some suggestions in regard to where I should sing and he told me he would help me. He had one last song for me, which was a hilarious song he wrote called "Laugh it Off." The song gave all these embarrassing situations that could easily be gotten over by just simply laughing them off. He told me that his advice costs, and the payment will be in the form of matches. I handed over 3 books and he was happy. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.

The next evening, the gentleman came downstairs with a huge book of Broadway songs. He'd selected the ones he thought I should sing, and then handed the book to me and told me to photocopy the songs and then give the book back. I, again, paid the man by giving him 3 books of matches and he was on his way to where I have no idea. I turned to the bellman and said, "That's what makes me happy about working here...it makes it all worth it."I felt privileged to have connected with this person, and privileged knowing that he felt comfortable enough to share his knowledge with me.