Tour De Life
Friday,
April 8, 2005
Volume 33,
Issue 14
Sun, May 19, 2013
IN THE SGN
SECTION ONE
Front Page
MORE/ALL
SECTION ONE
STORIES
SECTION TW0
Arts & Entertainment
by Beau Burriola |
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| Something New | ||
| Hi, this is Beau. Im out walking in the rain; leave a message. Beep.
Little brother? Remember how I told you I was going to start the South Beach diet? Well, I started it today and I feel great! I wanted a cinnamon roll, but I didnt get one. Call me back so I can gloat. I was walking along, whistling in the slight Seattle rain, when I decided to detour into a badly lit and musty-smelling music store. There, in the uneven fluorescent light, against the dirty back wall, I spied a violin mounted next to other instruments in a glass case. Next to the violin was a sign that read: Monthly Rentals, inquire at register. In this, my twenty-sixth year, I have the same I shoulds that most adults do. I should eat better. I should read more history. I should recycle more. On top of the pile of shoulds is the ever prominent reminder that I should always try to learn more; to do something new and expand my experiences. Hi, this is Beau. Im out walking in the rain; leave a message. Beep. Hey, Beau. Its Sean. I finally started on my dissertation. Well, actually its only one paragraph, but Ive started and its taken FOREVER to get to this point, so I thought Id call and give you the good news. Call me back. I asked the smiling blonde gal behind the counter about the violin. Her name was Amy and she asked me if Id ever played before. No, I answered, but Ive always wanted to. For twenty three bucks a month, she told me, on a rent-to-own basis, I could try out a violin to see if its something I like. Since twenty three bucks doesnt seem to me to be too bad of a gamble, I accepted. As I filled out the rental agreement, a strong-faced and dark-haired man walked up to the register next to me and in a gruff Russian-sounding accent, asked if he could place flyers for violin lessons. What a coincidence, Amy smiled, taking a flyer from the stack and handing it to me. It took only a half-second to have a crush on my new instructor. As our first order of student/teacher business, we picked out a couple of beginning lesson books. Hi, this is Beau. Im out walking in the rain; leave a message. Beep. Its Jay, just calling to thank you. Its been three days and this time I know treatment is going to work. Its weird being sober. Its different. I have energy. Anyway, Ill try you at this time tomorrow. Pick up your phone. As I left the store carrying a violin case, I half-wondered if the store would disappear when I left, back to that place that mirages and daydreams come from. Every day there are a million chances to try something new; for those who are open enough to catch chance passing by with quick impulse, unknowable rewards could be waiting just around the corner. This morning I woke up to three voicemail messages and a new violin; all had something in common. Chance? Maybe. Probably not. The ancestor of every action is a thought. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Beau Burriola is a hobby dabbler only five years away from hire for weddings and bar mitzvahs. Email him at beau@beaubrent.com. |
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 GENERAL GAYETY Leslie Robinson |
 NOT THINKING STRAIGHT Madelyn Arnold |
