For Valentine’s day N gave me tickets to see Jeff Mangum in concert. The reclusive singer/songwriter was touring again after more than a decade of inactivity and I was thrilled.
The evening finally came so last night we got a sitter and drove downtown. We ate at Dojo and had the pork belly ramen (their specialty), a tuna/apple/goat cheese salad, and a sashimi plate. It was all tasty.
Then we headed over to the venue and got inside few minutes before Mangum took the stage.When Mangum walked on stage the crowd went wild. I thought he looked like a thin, shipwrecked version of Fidel Castro. He had a green military cap on with a long gray beard and hair.
And then he opened his mouth and sang and I felt the years float off my shoulders and I was 19 again falling in love with new music and with a certain dreamy boy. And last night I stood next to him again with his arm around my waist and I felt happy and wistful.
After the concert we walked back to the parking lot and got into our sedan and drove to our house in the suburbs. And I snuck into our kids’ rooms and kissed them goodnight, with fondness in my heart for that girl of 19 and gratitude for where life has taken her.