OK, Accordian Girl, You Finally Win

Oh, Ingrid, the things you've made me do... every accordian player I see on the street gets my pocket change. But today, today things rose to a new level.

I stopped by the grocery store, and outside was a young-ish accordian player--though these days I swear everyone looks younger and younger. You would have loved him, Ingrid. He was playing the Summer section of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and God help me he was fantastic. I dropped in a couple of euros, listened until he switched to Autumn, and went to shop.

When I left the store, I dropped in substantially more money. It's cold out and he was playing for no one, beaming with joy. He was just so good, and I felt you so clearly at that moment, Ingrid. He switched to Bach then, and I knew you would have loved it. I stayed through some Beethoven, then thanked him and turned to leave.

And he stopped me, and in a thick Russian accent thanked me profusely and handed me his homemade CD. Maxim Sadovnikov smiled at me, so happy to have someone stop to listen, and I could hear you, Ingrid, laughing at me. With love.