Saturday, November 10, 2007

Ken and Alice


I said good bye tonight to Ken and Alice. This was the first time I had actually spoken to them. All of the many, many other nights over the past year I sat in the cool darkness beneath the Palazzo Vecchio on the steps of the Loggia, and I remained quiet and listening. I was one of the many fans that gather late in the evening to hear their tunes.

Ken and Alice have been a big part and a huge pleasure in my time here in Florence. I took almost everyone who visited to the Piazza after dinner to listen to their music. Sometimes we bought bottles of wine to share, and others we sat quietly, listening, or talking, and quietly singing along with the nostalgic tunes from our past. Every evening I looked forward to making my way out into the night to the Piazza della Signoria to gather and listen to music, meet friends, and watch people.

Tonight when I said goodbye, I told them that I had been here for a year and what a big part of my time here they had been and what pleasure I had taken from hearing their music. It was cold tonight and they were turning in early. Their daughter who usually accompanies them was no where to be seen. I left them a generous sum that in no way begins to compensate for what they gave me, and as I walked away, I couldn’t stop a few silent tears.

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