Saturday, December 01, 2007

Making Friends

Thanks to a regular schedule of Mass, Kitty and I have made some interesting new friends. One of them is a 72-year-old opera fan by the name of George. Technically, George is a "SuperFan" of opera. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of shows and remembers every singer he ever saw. He has been attending since he was nine years old and has seen the truly legendary singers perform here in the City and around the world.

Last night we attended The Daughter of the Regiment at the Met. It was a fantastic production with lively staging and truly superb singing. We had a grand time chatting with George and his other opera buddies up in the Family Circle. There are great opportunities to read about the show, so I won't get into it here. Besides, to steal a great line, "Talking about opera is like dancing about architecture."

My point, and I do have one, is that George lives in our parish and so we all took the train home together. He had us gasping for air as we chased him through the streets of Manhattan on our way to the Columbus Circle Station and he was still revved and ready to go after the show, while we were falling asleep.

When I get to be 72, I think I'd like to be back living in NYC, going to the opera with Kitty (maybe she'll be a fan by then!) and able to out walk a couple of spring chickens as we head to the subway.

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