Chat
20170620-The Anonymous Orchestra
6:10 AM PST
I am a student at a University. It is early Fall, dark outside and getting colder. I am going home to my dormitory with my backpack of books. When I arrive at the building, there are limousines in the drive at the front, and men in tuxedos milling around the entrance. No women seen. With difficulty I get through the doorway. I decide to cut through to a staircase in the back to avoid the crowd of men inside in tuxedos.
I get through a doorway, and double doors are closed behind me by ushers with white gloves. I am in the back of an auditorium with men in tuxedos who could not get a seat. The ushers are blocking the way forward and back, so I am stuck in the auditorium for now.
There is a group of musicians in the center of the room, perhaps an octet. Their music is beautiful, and this is surprising because all of them are wearing paper bags over their heads with eye holes in the bags. The violins do not miss a note, and even the flute player is in perfect time and perfect pitch. They are so good that even the bags do not rustle. How can they do it?
The music ends to thunderous applause. They are about to play again, but the flute player holds up a hand, and walks quickly to the back of the room, where I am. One of the tuxedos, a younger man, was quietly saying something to his friend.
“You there!” The flute player points at the talker. “No talking! Lie down on the floor!” The young man obeys at once.
The flute player turns to an older man. “You!” He points his finger again. “No chewing gum! Lie down on the floor!” The older man lies down immediately. No arguments, not a word. I realize that the flute player has a Chinese accent.
The flute player turns to me. In spite of the bag, he has bad breath. Perhaps he had fish for dinner. “You!” He points to me. “What do you have in your hand?”
I look down at a half-eaten roll of Wintergreen lifesavers. “Uhh, just some lifesavers. You can have one if you like.”
The flute player leans his bag head close to me. Quietly he says, “Not now, but perhaps I will have one after the performance.”
“I will save them for you,” I reply quietly, and stick the roll in my jeans pocket.
“Very well!” he says in his loud command voice, and turns back towards the musicians.
Dream ends here.
Peculiar features--The bags on the head, of course! But why were there only men in tuxedos? A tuxedo is a sort of uniform, though not a military one. The Chinese musicians are humorous, but also very very skillful. The bags are humorous but also a bit menacing.
The flute player is in absolute control, not only of the orchestra, but also the audience. How did he manage to get the tuxedos to obey him immediately?
"Who IS that masked man?"
6:10 AM PST
I am a student at a University. It is early Fall, dark outside and getting colder. I am going home to my dormitory with my backpack of books. When I arrive at the building, there are limousines in the drive at the front, and men in tuxedos milling around the entrance. No women seen. With difficulty I get through the doorway. I decide to cut through to a staircase in the back to avoid the crowd of men inside in tuxedos.
I get through a doorway, and double doors are closed behind me by ushers with white gloves. I am in the back of an auditorium with men in tuxedos who could not get a seat. The ushers are blocking the way forward and back, so I am stuck in the auditorium for now.
There is a group of musicians in the center of the room, perhaps an octet. Their music is beautiful, and this is surprising because all of them are wearing paper bags over their heads with eye holes in the bags. The violins do not miss a note, and even the flute player is in perfect time and perfect pitch. They are so good that even the bags do not rustle. How can they do it?
The music ends to thunderous applause. They are about to play again, but the flute player holds up a hand, and walks quickly to the back of the room, where I am. One of the tuxedos, a younger man, was quietly saying something to his friend.
“You there!” The flute player points at the talker. “No talking! Lie down on the floor!” The young man obeys at once.
The flute player turns to an older man. “You!” He points his finger again. “No chewing gum! Lie down on the floor!” The older man lies down immediately. No arguments, not a word. I realize that the flute player has a Chinese accent.
The flute player turns to me. In spite of the bag, he has bad breath. Perhaps he had fish for dinner. “You!” He points to me. “What do you have in your hand?”
I look down at a half-eaten roll of Wintergreen lifesavers. “Uhh, just some lifesavers. You can have one if you like.”
The flute player leans his bag head close to me. Quietly he says, “Not now, but perhaps I will have one after the performance.”
“I will save them for you,” I reply quietly, and stick the roll in my jeans pocket.
“Very well!” he says in his loud command voice, and turns back towards the musicians.
Dream ends here.
Peculiar features--The bags on the head, of course! But why were there only men in tuxedos? A tuxedo is a sort of uniform, though not a military one. The Chinese musicians are humorous, but also very very skillful. The bags are humorous but also a bit menacing.
The flute player is in absolute control, not only of the orchestra, but also the audience. How did he manage to get the tuxedos to obey him immediately?
"Who IS that masked man?"