Hot piping action

Last night, at Mike's insistence, we had dinner at a pizza place featuring music played for us by the resident organist. I could have stayed for hours and watched this guy play.

He used NO sheet music. He played everything from memory and most of it was from requests made by the customers.

When the organist went on break, I inspected and took pictures of the organ pipes and the console (which I hope to post next week--I suspect I'm the only one interested in it, though). Some of the organ noisemakers were suspended from the ceiling or hung on the walls. There was a row of plastic duck decoys that moved up and down when that rank of pipes was activated on the organ.

While I was taking pictures, I noticed that the organist was watching me. I asked him a few pipe-related questions and we got into a conversation about what it's like as the organ player for this pizza joint. I enjoyed his commentary, especially the story of a guy who came in with the sole purpose of stumping the organist by requesting what he thought were obscure songs. But the organist knew them all. The guy was there for a few hours and finally came up with a song name. He said to the organist, "I bet you don't know this one buy a former bandleader on the Tonight Show." The organist smiled and said, "Is it _______?" (I can't remember the name) and the guy's face fell. He shoved a ten dollar bill in the tip jar and remarked that he'd been beat.

I enjoyed the dinner and show. I'm having a great time with my brother and his family. Their cat is vastly superior in personality to my cats. Sadie is compliant and extremely tolerant of human manipulation. She really doesn't mind being hauled around and manhandled. Hayley, who always wants to hold and shower attention upon Magic and Servo who don't tolerate it, is reveling in showering a happy Sadie with love.

And dear sweet unblinking niece Ultraviolet with her giant saucer eyes let me read excerpts of Sew Liberated to her. I will steal her. Jen said she won't mind.