snapshot

Walking down the street in Nassau this morning, I ran across a brass band, from some benevolent group or another. There wasn’t a parade, just this one band headed to the capital building, I assume. The band was probably a dozen or fifteen brass, and almost as many drummers playing something that sounded strangely like Dolly Parton’s “Island in the Stream”. At least I think it did- the brass were, well, poor, typical Shriners stuff. But the drums, my God; a street beat there is a symphony. There’s all sorts of subtle things going on, cross-rhythms, inflections, etc., and at the same time they’re just kids walking down the street. You’re body, even this skinny little white boy’s body has to move when you hear it- you can’t help it.